Masquerade
by noelswonderland
Summary: In her he saw something precious that he had once lost, and in him she saw a means to an end. In a strange, twisted way they needed each other. But with the masks they wear they deceive themselves and each other. Alois x OC
1. Reminder of the Past

Spring was just around the corner, and yet winter held firmly to its grip on London as snowflakes fell upon the streets of the capital. The wind seemed to stand still, and yet the temperatures had hit a chilling low. Amidst a particularly impoverished district in the town, a nobleman's carriage rolled across the cobblestone. The horse's hooves clicked against the road as onlookers peered at them from the shadow.

"It doesn't belong here," they whispered amongst themselves.

As if those very words were a curse, there was a distinct cracking noise that echoed throughout the empty streets as the vehicle suddenly stopped in place. The man maneuvering the coach immediately stopped the horses and climbed down from his perch to investigate.

Cracking the door open, a blonde-haired boy peeked his head out. "What is it, Claude? What's the hold up?" he hissed questioningly.

"I apologize your highness, it appears that at our stop earlier, the street urchins disassembled-"

"No excuses!" he bellowed. "Fix it!"

"Yes, your highness," the black-haired man responded, taking a sweeping bow. The door closed abruptly right as he straightened himself and began work on one of the rear wheels, where the problem had apparently originated.

From inside the carriage, flickering candlelight peered out the side window where the curtain was swept slightly to the side. The colors of dim orange and yellow danced against the cobblestone. It was eye catching, which was unfortunately a bad thing in such a poor neighborhood.

The beggars from the street corners inched closer, the temptation of robbing a nobleman played into their thoughts. Their greedy hands outstretched as they approached, but something stopped them...

From the darkness of an alleyway emerged a solitary figure that seemed to drift over the street, only the light pitter-patter of bare feet echoing quietly through the air as they approached the carriage. Cloaked in a brown shroud that extended down to the upper half of their ankles, with a hood covering their facial features, the person looked no different from the other beggars clothed in rags.

However, curious as a cat, the person pressed their face against the window.

Inside the carriage, the blonde-haired boy quickly took notice of the unwanted presence lingering just outside. His capri-blue eyes narrowed in disgust as he quickly wrenched his door open. "Do something about that _thing_, Claude!"

Obediently, the golden-eyed butler abandoned his reparations to fulfill his master's command. He rounded the carriage quickly and stepped toward the cloaked person with his hand raised.

Sensing danger, the person immediately moved to flee, but tripped upon the hem of the cloak. With a crashing loud thud, they landed upon the cobblestone, their hood thrown off from the impact. Long, flowing auburn-red hair fell loose, covering the person's eyes as they turned with a look of horror to face Claude.

Unfazed by his prey's clumsiness, Claude moved forward to dispose of them.

"Wait!" the blue-eyed nobleman cried out, sprinting out from behind the carriage and brushing past Claude. He hurried over to the trembling form of the collapsed person. "This hair..."

Claude slowly approached from behind, silently watching expressionlessly.

The nobleman outstretched his hand, taking a lock of the reddish hair into his hand. It contrasted against his pale flesh, like coagulated blood. "It's just like..." There seemed to be a gleam in those blue eyes of his. "What's your name? Who are you?" he questioned eagerly with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Remy," the chapped lips responded, "I was watching-"

"Claude, take him and put him in the carriage. I want him!" The boy jabbed his finger in the stranger's face, a triumphant grin upon his face.

"Wait!" the person tried to protest.

"Yes, your highness."

Before the cloaked person could even scramble to their feet, they were slung over the butler's shoulder and hauled off toward the carriage. To bystanders, it may have been nothing short of a kidnapping, and yet those that still lurked on the streets remained silently in the shadows.

"Hurry up and fix the carriage," the noble boy instructed as he mounted the stairs and returned to the safety of the carriage after Claude had forced Remy inside. The door slammed closed once again.

"Please let me go," the cloaked boy pleaded, his head turned in the direction of the door.

A grin had lifted up onto the pale pink lips of the nobleman who leaned back comfortably in his cushioned seat on the opposite side. "Why were you looking inside if you didn't want in?"

"I wanted to see..." Remy whispered in an almost inaudible tone, "...the one called Alois Trancy."

Throwing his head back in cackling laughter, Alois seemed thoroughly amused by the answer. The mirth on his face quickly melted away, however, replaced instead by a look of determination. He leaned forward, his hands outstretched. "Let me see those eyes."

"You're not really Alois Trancy... Are you?"

The candlelight danced upon his pale face. "What did you say?"

"I asked... If you're really the earl of Trancy."

Ignoring the question, Alois lunged toward Remy. "Let me see your face!"

Instinctively, the red-headed boy pressed his hands over his face to protect from Alois's invasive fingers. However, the action proved unnecessary; the carriage suddenly lurched forward, sending the blonde-haired nobleman flying back into his seat.

He grunted from the impact, and seemed particularly annoyed by his foiled attempt. Nevertheless, he made no further attempt to pry past the shaggy red hair that hid away Remy's face from his view.

Instead, like a sulking child, Alois leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest while glaring at the person across from him. "It doesn't matter. I'll see that face of yours soon enough."

"Why do you want to see my face?"

He tilted his head innocently and gave a subtle smile. "Maybe for the same reason you don't want to show me."

"Why won't you let me go?"

Somewhat annoyed by the incessant questions, Alois heaved a sigh. "Why, why, why? All of these questions and you won't answer any of mine."

Grasping onto the edge of the seat with his hands, Remy leaned forward. "I'll answer one of your questions if you let me go." His voice was raspy but effeminate, and it only furthered to pique Alois's curiosity.

"No."

Surprised that the earl refused to comply, Remy gripped the cushion tighter. "There's no reason for you to keep me."

Alois smirked. "Maybe there is."

Silence fell between the two of them, and all that could be heard was the sound of the wheels rolling across the cobblestone, the creaking of the carriage, and the sound of hoof beats. Sensing that Alois seemed to have his guard down momentarily, Remy leaped toward the door.

The blonde-haired nobleman was surprisingly just as fast, blocking the doorway with his whole body. Remy collided against him and stumbled backward. The rush of movement sent a wave of air that disturbed the two flickering candles by the window, both of which suddenly extinguished.

Darkness invaded the carriage instantly, and in an anguished scream, Alois collapsed upon the floor - or rather, collapsed onto Remy. The red-haired boy was pinned under Alois, who continued to wail and scream.

"It's dark!" he cried out, "I'm scared... Luka! Luka!"

Remy froze when he felt the nobleman's arms encircle around his body. Alois was unexpectedly clinging to him. Unsure of what to do other than comfort the boy clinging to him, Remy gently stroked Alois's back. "It's alright."

Amidst all of the commotion, Remy hadn't noticed that the carriage had abruptly stopped, and the door had flown open.

"Light!"

Suddenly the candles flickered alive, and the carriage was once again filled with the brilliantly dancing light. Alois hesitantly lifted his chin, and he saw it - what he'd been waiting to see. What he had wanted to see for so long. In the midst of the chaos, Remy's hair had flown away from his right eye, and while his left was still covered, Alois could see - in plain view... One luminous brown eye.

But the color drained from his face as he realized something else - something that displeased him greatly.

"Woman!" he hissed, shoving Remy backwards as he withdrew himself quickly from her arms.

She, too, seemed mildly shocked that he had noticed, her hands flying up to her face. Despite her other eye remaining hidden, Alois had noticed the obvious femininity of her facial features.

Enraged that he'd been so easily fooled, he lunged at Remy. His hands found their way to her neck, and his fingers constricted against her skin. Alois had expected her to struggle, to scratch and kick at him, but she didn't move to stop him.

Instead she remained motionless even as the color drained from her face. That bright brown eye of hers became murky. She was choking, those sputtering breaths coming out in rasps as his fingernails dug into her skin.

But the color of that eye reminded him all too painfully of what he'd experienced in the past. Somehow, Alois found his grip loosening although he hadn't intended it. The anger ebbed away, and was suddenly replaced by desperation as he realized that her eyelids had closed.

"C-Claude, she's - fix her!" he screamed.

Though it was a cramped fit, the golden-eyed butler had no other choice but to clamber into the carriage and maneuver around his master and the motionless body lying on the floor of the carriage. He pressed two fingers against the side of her neck. "She's still alive, just unconscious."

Relief washed over the Alois's face, but soon he was glaring at Claude. "Hurry and get us to the manor," he growled.

Obediently, Claude took his leave with one last, "Yes, your highness," before slamming the door shut behind him. Moments later, the carriage jerked forward again and the sound of neighing horses could faintly be heard.

Alois, now comforted by the light in the room, peered down at the person who so resembled his brother. He lingered between disgust and obsession for the girl named Remy, lying unconsciously before him. That eye of hers that so resembled Luka's captivated him, and yet simultaneously he wanted to tear it out of the face that betrayed the memory of his brother.

While he wasn't sure what to make of her, he knew he didn't want to be stepping on her. Exercising what small amount of strength he had, Alois lifted her frail body up onto the seat across from his own. The carriage was anything but spacious, but however cramped it was, he managed to fit her onto the seat before leaning back into his.

A gentleman would've kindly taken off their coat to cover up a lady to ensure she didn't get a cold. Alois, on the contrary, was repulsed by the fact he'd touched her at all. Every time he thought about it, he cringed, and mentally decided his clothes would have to be burned because washing wouldn't be enough.

As the minutes slowly trickled into hours, the carriage finally arrived safely at the Trancy estate. Although the servants had expected he would return sooner, they were fully prepared to receive him, standing at the entrance to the manor with candlelight in hand.

Anxious to retire and to put distance between himself and his brother's lookalike, Alois thrust the door open and nearly leaped off the stairs. Inside, Remy had remained unconscious the entire trip and still had yet to wake up.

"Hannah," the blonde-haired nobleman growled harshly.

The dark-skinned maid winced at the sound of his voice, bowing her head down to avoid his gaze. "Yes, master?" she breathed out meekly.

"You're to take charge of the girl in there." He motioned offhandedly to the idle carriage behind him.

Obediently, she bowed before him. "Yes, sir," she said, before moving toward the carriage to attend her newly appointed duty.

"Oh, and Hannah..."

She froze midway to her destination, and moved almost mechanically to glance back in her master's general direction. "Yes, master?"

As he turned toward her, the deranged smile on his face gave her a chill. "If she escapes, I'm afraid that would be very bad for you." It was said kindly, in a childish manner, and yet the tone of Alois's voice was nothing short of threatening.

While the earl of Trancy made his way into the manor, closely followed by his butler, he left his other servants to attend to the girl he'd indiscriminately kidnapped from London, and his carriage. While the white-haired woman named Hannah retrieved Remy, and carried her into the house, three purple-haired triplets were left with the task of putting the horses and carriage away.

As far as tedious jobs went for Hannah, this new one was considerably mild compared to the other bizarre tasks that the earl had set before her in the past. The rag-covered girl, who she suspected was no older than perhaps fourteen, had a small frame and lithe form. The lack of weight on her body made her easy to carry.

For any normal person, it would've been difficult to navigate the hallways with only dim candlelight to guide them, but Hannah easily found her way. The darkness did little to impede her, even as she entered a room devoid of even a single stream of moonlight.

As she set the girl's body down on the bed, Hannah gently whispered, "Light," and suddenly a candle sitting atop the bedside table came alive. The room was suddenly bathed in a warm, glowing light. Shadows seemed to dance across the walls.

At almost that exact moment, Remy's lips twitched and she lifted herself up into a sitting position. Contrary to Hannah's silent expectations, Remy didn't seem at all fazed at her situation. She merely peered around the room curiously before asking, "Is this the Trancy estate?"

"Yes," Hannah answered truthfully as she rummaged through a nearby closet before producing a beautiful set of nightclothes, intricately designed with beautiful pastel colors. Closing the doors, she turned back toward Remy and held out the clothes toward her. "You can put these on for tonight."

The red-haired girl slowly shook her head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I would sully your beautiful guest clothes."

Though she felt some inclination to argue the point, Hannah pursed her lips and returned them to their proper place before turning back to the guest. "The master requested I oversee your care. My name is Hannah, please let me know if you need anything, my lady." After bowing, Hannah glanced back up at her guest expectantly.

"There's no need to refer to me so formally. I'm not much of a lady. Call me Remy..." her voice trailed off for a moment, and behind the curtain of reddish brown hair that cover her face, Hannah could see a thin smile on Remy's lips. "Thank you, Hannah."

Taking that as a cue for her to leave, Hannah turned toward the door. Something tugged at the back of her mind before she could reach it, however, and she paused to glance back at Remy. "Miss Remy, may I... Ask one thing?"

"Drop the miss, and certainly."

Hannah hesitated - she was habitually used to being scolded by Alois for speaking out. "Your eyes..."

"What about them?" Remy countered, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of tangled and matted reddish brown tresses.

"The reason you hide them..."

"Probably not for the reason you think," she cut off quickly. "But if you're curious, I won't stop you from looking."

Though she rarely let the curiosity get the better of her, Hannah ventured over to the red-haired girl sitting idly upon the mattress. The dark-skinned maid tentatively reached her fingers out, weaved them through the disheveled locks of auburn hair, and peeled them away.

Hannah's eyes widened. "Oh," she murmured breathlessly, then promptly, "Forgive me." Suddenly she understood, and feeling guilty for asking in the first place, quickly bowed before taking her leave.

Left to the flickering candlelight at her tableside, Remy slowly put her hand over her right eye. She leaned toward the burning wick and with a single word, blew it out. "Ugly."

And the room filled with darkness.

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**Author's Note:** Thanks to a certain person who beta tested this for me, lest it would have murdered several people's eyes. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I expect the next to be out in a week or two.


	2. Pretending

**Author's Note: **Just as a quick note, Masquerade only semi-follows Monoshitsuji (or Kuroshitsuji 2). It will have spoilers for those of you who haven't completed up to Episode 8, but I suspect most people reading this would've already watched that much.**  
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Empty. The bed was empty, the room was empty, it was all empty. He was furious.

"Where is she?" he demanded with his hands balled up into fists at his side.

Habitually adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose, Claude responded, matter-of-factly, "Hannah is cleaning her up. They're in the bathroom."

The anger slowly dissipated from Alois's face, replaced by a devilish grin instead. "Good, then she won't be so filthy." He seemed to be talking to himself as he turned on the heel of his shoe and started down the hallway. Then, the blonde-haired nobleman paused to cast a brief glance back at his butler. "Make sure that Hannah has her at the breakfast table in thirty minutes."

"Yes, your highness."

Meanwhile, occupying the bathroom and armed with herbal soaps and sponges, Hannah found she had her work cut out for her. After she'd peeled the raggedy cloak off of Remy, Hannah found that all the red-haired girl had to cover her body was torn scraps that were unfit to even be called clothes. The dirt and grime had built up not just on the soles of Remy's feet, but on her face, under her finger nails, and even in her hair.

"It really isn't necessary for you to do this."

Silently, Hannah disagreed; obviously Remy's hygiene was comparable to that of a pig's, and Hannah could only imagine being scolded by Alois if she left Remy to her own devices. No, this definitely required Hannah's cleaning expertise. "I heated the bath water personally, so it should be comfortable. I also poured in scented oil."

Taking that as a hint, Remy slowly drifted across the beige tiled floor and clambered over the white ceramic ledge and into the tub. The steaming water looked inviting, and she gingerly slipped her foot into the liquid. She winced at the contact; the temperature of the water was warmer than she'd anticipated.

As her leg dived down into the depths of the tub, the water seemed to shave the dirt off her skin. The oil seemed to have some soothing effect because she could feel a tingling sensation wash over her as she slowly lifted her other leg and inserted it into the tub before gradually lowering the rest of her body into the water.

"It seems odd to me that your earl wants to treat a stranger so kindly," Remy remarked.

Lifting two heavy buckets filled to the brim with water she'd also boiled, Hannah made her way over beside the bathtub before gently lowering them down onto the floor. "My master does as he wishes," she responded indifferently, offering no clear opinion on the matter.

"That suits me fine, I have business here, anyways." Remy kept her head tilted downward, her hair shadowing her face as she drew a single finger across the surface the water.

Though she silently wondered what "business" entailed, Hannah kept her questions to herself. She'd exercised her curiosity the previous night, and the guilt still stung in the pit of her stomach. Instead, she kept herself preoccupied with the task at hand. "Close your eyes," Hannah instructed, lifting one of the heavy buckets.

Water poured through the air, and crashed down through Remy's hair and trickled down her shoulders and chest. She flinched as the heated liquid seemed to embrace her skin, tearing away and the heavy coat of dirt and grime. Similarly her hair, now free from the brownish film that seemed to have covered it, had turned into a more brilliant, radiant red from the muddy color it'd been before.

The water in the bath tub rapidly turned murky as Hannah took a sponge and began scrubbing away the excess accumulation that hadn't been washed off of Remy's arms and legs. The scrubbing process seemed to go on forever, perhaps even a quarter of an hour. Afterward Hannah attended to Remy's hair.

At last, slightly over half an hour after beginning, they had finished.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wear some of the master's clothes. We don't have anything feminine that would appropriately fit you right now."

Unfazed by the news, Remy allowed Hannah to dress her without a word. The clothes mirrored what Remy had seen the earl clothed in the night before, though the color scheme was a bit different. Black shorts, long black stockings, a white undershirt and a dark blue vest... However, when Hannah moved to put a pair of heeled boots on Remy's feet, the red-haired girl waved her hand dismissively. "I'd prefer not to wear shoes."

Conflicted as to whether or not she should heed the girl's wishes, Hannah reluctantly agreed and stood up straight. "Would you also not have me pin your hair back?"

"It's not necessary."

As expected. "At least allow me to brush your hair."

It was obvious by the way her lips twitched in disapproval that Remy didn't want to, but she kept silent while Hannah retrieved the brush and proceeded to untangle the mess of hair on her head.

**Knock, knock.**

"The young master grows impatient."

Remy recognized the voice as that of the butler she'd encounter the night before. The one who had an air about him that unnerved her.

Either finished with her task, or abandoning it in favor of sparing herself punishment by her master, Hannah set the brush aside and quickly made her way to the door. Twisting the knob, she pulled it open and motioned for Remy to follow. "Please come with me and I will lead you there."

It could hardly be a considered a walk; Hannah was moving fast enough that Remy had to nearly jog just to keep up with her. Yet even in their fast and unladylike pace, when they arrived the first thing they heard was, "Late."

Looking particularly perturbed, Alois sat at a small round breakfast table, plates of food laid out before him. His fingers drummed against the edge of the table as he leered at the two new arrivals.

Submissively, Hannah bowed and muttered her apologies.

Apparently, the earl was uninterested in her excuses, as he seemed to ignore her. His eyes, filled with curiosity and a hint of mischief, appeared to linger on Remy's rigid form standing near the doorway. "Sit," he commanded, motioning to the chair adjacent to him.

As instructed, she moved forward and quietly took a seat.

"Eat."

Once again, just as she had been ordered, Remy outstretched her hand and grasped one of the slices of buttered bread sitting on a nearby plate. With her free hand, she brushed her hair away from her mouth and began nibbling on the food.

Grabbing a nearby knife, Alois stabbed at the yolk of his egg until it bled across his plate. "Now you'll let me see your face." Though his chin was tucked down toward his chest his eyes still remained focused on the girl across from him.

Swallowing the last of the bread, Remy lifted her head, apparently to look at the man across from her. Her bangs were still swept in front of her face, hiding away everything except her lips. "There's nothing interesting about my face."

The screeching sound of a metal utensil scraping against the china cut through the silence in the room as Alois deliberately applied pressure from the knife to the plate. Hannah and the triplets, all standing nearby, winced at the horrible sound but did not move to stop him.

"Show me your face," he said finally, pulling his fingers away from the knife, which fell and clattered upon the table cloth, now stained with the yellow color of yolk.

"Why do you want to see?"

Seeming to exercise some amount of patience, Alois smirked lopsidedly. "Why won't you show me?"

"Every time I ask you a question you won't answer me. Instead you just reverse the question back at me."

Alois leaned back against his chair and folded his arms over his chest. "I could order Hannah to show me your face."

"Then why haven't you?"

Whether it was meant to mock him or it was a genuine question didn't really matter. It sounded like a challenge and Alois never backed away from a direct challenge. Instead he briefly glanced over at his fidgeting maid. "Hannah, show me her face."

Without a moment's hesitation Hannah strode over to where Remy was sitting and gently pulled the auburn red tresses away from her face. Much to Alois's surprise Remy didn't struggle or even flinch at the motion. She remained seated and unmoving.

Alois leaned forward eagerly in his seat, but his large grin quickly faded away.

It wasn't what he had expected. Not what he'd expected at all; those eyes of hers were hideous. "Disgusting." Grotesque. "Repulsive." Monstrous. "Dirty." As the venomous words poured out of his mouth, Alois angrily threw the plate of food that had been sitting in front of him. Eggs splattered across the carpet and the china shattered and splintered on the floor.

Remy's right eye had been just as he'd remembered the previous night. The same color as Luka's - exactly the same, luminous and as brown as chocolate. But her left eye was dark blue like the depths of the ocean. Those eyes of hers marred her delicate, doll-like face. It made him angry - nauseous.

Alois stomped around the table, and Hannah moved just in time as he reached out and grabbed hold of Remy's face. Hands placed on either side of her cheeks, he leaned toward her face. His eyes peered into hers, and in them he saw his reflection.

"That is why I didn't want you to see."

His thumb traced the area around her right eye, the light reflected in it, his eyes reflected in it. Beautiful... He was captivated by it. Yet conversely, that blue eye, like the murky depths of the bottomless sea, seemed to threat to swallow him whole. He hated the color - loathed it.

Unable to stomach the look of her eyes any longer, he dropped his hands away from her face, and once again, the red tresses of hair fell in front of her eyes and hid them from him. He took a lock of the fine color in his hand, examining it briefly. Since the dirt had been washed away from it, it had grown a deeper red, and though not unlike his brothers, it didn't resemble it quite as closely anymore.

Still...

"Cover that hideous eye of hers and chop off that excessive amount of hair," Alois instructed in a firm voice, his glaring eyes focused on Hannah. With that, he clenched his fist around Remy's hair, tugging her head toward him. "Once you're presentable, we'll talk again... Okay?" His voice had turned sugary sweet as he beamed a smile at her. Just as soon as the expression had formed on his face, however, it disappeared and he released her before briskly walking off.

"Earl," Remy called after him, "Do you really have any further business with one such as I?"

Pausing at the doorway, Alois tilted his head, though he didn't turn to face her. "A better question is, don't you have business with me?"

"Yes."

He giggled at her response and then skipped off wordlessly.

—

"Earl," Remy called out, standing at the entrance to his study, the door wide open behind her.

As per his instructions, an eye patch had been secured over her left eye, and her hair trimmed to her shoulders and pulled away from her face. Lastly, although against her will, Hannah had managed to convince Remy to don brown leather lace-up boots.

Alois could only laugh in the face of irony; her chest was flat enough that she could easily pass off for a boy with her androgynous image. Yet with the style of clothing she wore and the patch of her eye, she strangely resembled someone else that came to his mind.

"Now that I have played along with your charades, spare me the answer to a question."

Amused at her demand, he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Depends on the question," he responded in a sing-song voice.

"Are you the true earl of Trancy?" She stepped forward purposefully, as if to place emphasis on the importance of her question.

Alois looked uninterested. "How boring," he groaned, laying his chin down against the mahogany desk. "You're still asking that old question."

"Please, it is important."

Unimpressed by the urgency conveyed through her voice, he breathed a sigh of exaggerated exasperation. "I don't feel like answering." Alois discreetly glanced up at Remy, curious as to her reaction.

She seemed to have realized that the earl was being inattentive to her. "My father was a servant in service to the Trancy household, and was charged with the task of searching for the earl's lost son."

No longer amused by the direction of the conversation, Alois sat up straight. His gaze met hers. "Here I am."

"If you confirm it as legitimate, then the final task handed to my father can be considered complete now, and his obligation to serve the Trancy family fulfilled."

He cackled and pointed at her, "Wrong!"

Mildly confused by his words, she furrowed her brows.

"He wasn't the one that found me," Alois explained with a smug grin. "Your father failed his task."

Remy's gaze fell to the ground, and she agreed, "You're right, he failed."

Now feeling triumphant, the blonde-haired nobleman stood up from his chair and strode around the side of his desk. His heels clicked against the purple, gold embroidered rug. "Then, since your father failed, your obligation to serve stands."

"You want me to serve you," she ventured a guess, not looking at all surprised at the direction the conversation was leading to.

Standing directly in front of her, Alois crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you refuse?"

That brown eye of hers that so resembled Luka's peered up at him for the briefest of moments before returning its focus to the floor. She seemed to be thinking, though her face did little to portray whatever emotions she was feeling. At last, the red-haired girl closed her eye and inhaled sharply. "Certainly not."

Alois sensed that there was more than loyalty at play, and that she most likely had an ulterior motive. Nonetheless, he was satisfied by her answer. "Then kneel before me and swear your allegiance," he commanded, jabbing a finger in her direction.

Remy did not contest his demand and obediently took to one knee, with her hand across her heart. "My allegiance I swear to you, my Lo-"

"No!" he screeched abruptly, interrupting her. "Call me 'your highness.'"

"Then, my allegiance I swear you, your highness." Her chin dipped momentarily before she stood back fully on her feet. "What work would you have me do?"

The blonde-haired nobleman had a cat-like grin on his face as he slowly walked over to her. Extending his long, slender fingers out toward her, he entangled his digits in her hair. Since the bath Hannah had given Remy, the strands of her hair felt smooth as silk.

"You're not a girl, you're a boy," he told her, as though declaring such would change reality, "And your name isn't Remy."

Although she knew it wasn't appropriate behavior for the servant of a noble family, Remy peered up into Alois's eyes. They seemed distant and glassy, as though he'd become despondent to the real world. Nonetheless, she had already promised her loyalty. "Yes, your highness. What would you have my name be instead?"

His lips twitched. "Luka..."

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**Author's Note:** Chapter 2 up in just a week after Chapter 1, woohoo! Thanks for the faves/alerts/review everyone! Much appreciated. I hope you've enjoyed the second chapter and look forward to the next in another week or so. Once again props to my beta tester for improving the readability of this chapter.


	3. Charades

The arrival of night seemed to change him. His movements seemed jerky, and his eyes seemed to be constantly peering around every corner. It was the darkness that unsettled him. Not until the night was late enough that all persons of the house began to retire, did Alois Trancy finally simmer down with his nervousness.

Commanded to follow him almost everywhere, Remy had been on his heels for the majority of the day, and although she had expected the night to lend her some relief, she was mistaken. Alois had demanded she accompany him right up until the time he fell asleep in his bed. So she found herself lingering nearby as Claude assisted Alois in changing into his nightclothes.

In silence she stood at the end of the bed, and though initially she'd kept her eyes on the two of them, the moment Claude began completely undressing Alois, she averted her gaze. Even if she had to play the part of a man, biologically she was still a woman and the reaction came to her instinctively.

"Why did you look away?" It was less of a question and more of an accusation that Alois lodged against her, waiting to speak until the moment Claude took his leave from the room.

Remy glanced back over at him, silently relieved to see him wearing a white sleeping gown. "I did not think it appropriate," she answered truthfully.

That answer didn't seem to satisfy him, as he crawled across the silken sheets and reached his bony hands out toward her. Grasping either side of her face, Alois pulled Remy toward him, their eyes only inches away from each other. "Do you think I'm disgusting?"

"Of course not, your highness." Even though she spoke the words he wanted to hear, her voice lacked all sincerity.

It seemed Alois was willing enough to believe her, or otherwise didn't mind either way what she truly thought. He released her and crawled back across his bed, collapsing against his pillows. "Come lay with me, Luka."

Remy quickly unlaced her boots, peeled them off, and crawled up onto the bed beside Alois. She hesitated before lying down next to him.

"It's just like before," he mumbled, pulling the large cotton blanket across their bodies before curling up against her. Alois slid his arms around her abdomen, pulling her closer.

Though she tensed against the warmth of his skin which momentarily brushed up against her arm, Remy reluctantly returned the gesture. She draped one of her arms over Alois's waist.

To her, though she didn't contest it, the situation seemed awkward. Alois hadn't explained who or what 'Luka' was, beyond that she was to become Luka. She knew Luka had to be a boy, since Alois had commanded her to be one. It wasn't really her business to know, and curiosity was something she'd long ago disposed of, so she didn't question him.

She suspected Alois knew that she wasn't telling the full truth about why she'd sought him out. Everything between the two of them was a charade. It suited her purpose to stay at his estate and it suited him, too. In a strange and somewhat twisted way the two of them needed each other.

Alois nuzzled her head, breathing in the scent from her hair. It smelled like aloe and buttermilk, a scent that he couldn't at all relate with his brother. The two of them, most often covered in dirt, went without baths of any form for weeks at a time. Still, he could remember them huddling against each other to keep warm on cold nights.

"Do you remember, Luka?" He had asked the question absentmindedly, full-well knowing that Remy wouldn't have any idea as to what he was talking about.

"Mm," she mumbled inconclusively, saying neither yes or no to his question.

"You always have to stay by me... All the time."

"Yes, your highness."

His eyes widened in surprise. It sounded just like Luka... The way her voice spoke those words, those soothing words that his brother had said to him. It left a dull ache of longing behind, and yet nevertheless filled the empty void he'd felt for so long.

Alois smiled against Remy's hair as his eyelids slowly slid closed.

Listening quietly to his breathing, Remy waited until she was sure he had fallen asleep before extracting herself from his arms. As she crawled out from beneath the comforter, she turned and tucked it against him.

In the dim candlelight, which mingled with the silvery rays of the moon peering in through the window, she could vaguely discern the small smile on his lips. He looked genuinely peaceful in his sleep.

Remy spent little time admiring his expression. She quietly picked up her boots, blew out the candles, and departed as quietly as possible. Then she closed the door behind her gently before starting down the hallway.

With one hand she cradled the heeled shoes, and with her other she scraped her fingernails against the wall, unable to see even a foot in front of her.

"Can't see very well with that eye," remarked a voice from behind her.

Remy didn't have to turn around to know it was the golden-eyed butler who seemed to never wander far from his master. "No," she conceded, "It's very difficult to see."

"You're here for more than confirming the legitimacy of the earl."

She glanced back at him, though with the darkness and her poor eyesight, she couldn't even distinguish Claude's outline. "Not so strange you would know, seeing as you're more than a butler."

He didn't respond to her comment and instead turned on his heel to leave. "Good night, _Luka_."

Left on her own again, Remy continued down the hallway until she arrived at the staircases. She cautiously descended them and eventually felt her way along the walls to the guest room she'd occupied the previous night. Once there, she was greeted by a patiently waiting Hannah, who helped Remy change into nightclothes before leaving.

Remy's eyelids felt heavy with exhaustion, and she gently placed the eye patch she'd been wearing on the bedside table before curling up beneath the thick blanket. She couldn't welcome sleep quick enough.

—

"Luka..."

It was a voice, a familiar one... Where had she heard it before? Calling a name that didn't belong to her. Yet she still felt the need to answer, even though she was sure it wasn't her name.

"Luka...!"

For some reason it sounded so distant, vague and muffled to her ears. She could barely distinguish who or what was being called. The voice sounded desperate, almost pleading. Who was it?

"Luka!"

Slowly, her eyelids parted and the streaming sunlight glared in from the window into her face. She groaned at the sensation, and tried to lift her torso but found it impossible. There was something weighing down on her legs and chest, something... Warm?

Sunny blonde hair tickled against her chin, and she immediately recognized who it was that seemed to be crawling on top of her. Remembering the earl's disdain for her eyes, she struggled to reach for her eye patch. She managed, somehow, to fasten it over her face.

Alois straddled her abdomen and smirked down at her. "You talk in your sleep, Luka." He leaned down, poked his tongue out, and licked along the edge of her earlobe. "Were you thinking about me as you slept?" The blonde-haired boy asked tauntingly. When Remy didn't respond, he sat up straight and laughed at her expression.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the empty room caught the earl's attention and interrupted the odd display. "E-excuse me, master, but breakfast has been prepared." It was Hannah's timid voice.

His expression seemed to change to a look of disgust whenever he gazed upon her. Perhaps it was resent that she had interrupted his interaction with Remy, or maybe a more prominent, underlying issue that had been left unspoken. Either way, Alois slipped off of Remy reluctantly and drifted over to the door. When he turned around, he was wearing a large smile again. "Get dressed, Luka! We're going to visit the town today."

"Yes, your highness."

Shortly thereafter, with Hannah's assistance, Remy was fully clothed in an outfit similar to the one she'd worn the day before, though the color scheme was red and gold this time instead. The regal attire was accentuated by a black frock with golden embroidery. She fit the look of a nobleman as she slipped out the front doors of the Trancy estate. With Hannah's assistance she made her way into the coach to sit with the already waiting earl. There was little warning as the door shut abruptly behind her.

"Don't you want to know why we're headed to London?" Alois asked, peering out the window of the carriage as it pulled out of the Trancy estate. He seemed almost unusually excited.

The light provided some assistance to her, though Remy could only barely make out the blurred outline of the boy sitting adjacent to her. She sat back straight against the cushioned seat, not unlike a statue. "No," she answered finally.

As though he didn't even pay attention to her answer, Alois grinned over at Remy. "Claude had some luxuries imported from India, boring stuff that doesn't matter... But while he's picking that up, we can explore the upper class district since you've never been there."

For a moment there was silence, shattered by the sound of her growling stomach. She silently wondered if it was Alois's intention to make her skip breakfast, because he was now pointing and laughing at her.

"Ha! Already hungry and we've barely left! You're such a glutton, Luka." When the laughter finally died down, he was grinning again. "Don't worry, they have plenty of high class bakeries and restaurants in the city."

"I don't know the proper etiquette to be able to dine in such a high class place, your highness."

Alois ran his fingernail along the glass, his gaze focused on the scenery rolling by outside. "That's not a problem," he dismissed offhandedly.

Convinced of the contrary, Remy disagreed. "I wouldn't want it to negatively affect your highness's image if they asked me to leave."

The faint curve on the edge of Alois's lips faded away. He looked over at Remy, a feral gleam clouding his sky blue eyes as he said somberly, "I'd never let them speak again if they did."

"I'm not hungry." It was a blatant lie, and though he was smiling again, Alois obviously didn't believe it.

After that conversation, chatter seemed to die down between the two of them. Silence occupied its place as Alois continued to stare out the window while Remy kept her gaze fixated on the floor. The trip to London proved to be a long one, though not excruciatingly so.

Alois became restless, fidgeting in his seat until at last the carriage came to a stop and Claude opened the door. Remy didn't even have the opportunity to get up before Alois shot out the door and commanded her to follow him.

She clambered down the steel steps slowly, squinting to try to make out some form in the madness of colors around her. The streets were bustling and noisy, she could barely even see Alois just a few feet away from her, scouting the streets of the city.

"Ah! There's the bakery. Claude, be back here in half an hour to pick us up."

"Yes, your highness," he said with a bow.

Alois glanced back briefly at Remy to make sure she'd left the carriage. He quickly glanced either way on the street and, seeing that no carriages were in the immediate proximity, strode across the cobblestone to the other side. Although he had been fully expecting Remy to follow along behind him, Alois was mildly surprised when he turned to peer over his shoulder and she wasn't there.

Upon further investigation - looking across the street, that is - he saw that she hadn't moved since she'd left the carriage. Flustered that she hadn't followed him as he'd ordered her to do, he called from across the street, "Luka, hurry up and get over here!"

Her chin jerked at the sound of his voice and she immediately began to cross the street. At that exact moment a carriage came barreling down the cobblestone, and for whatever reason, Remy continued to make her way toward Alois. He couldn't understand why she hadn't noticed the carriage coming straight toward her, why she hadn't stopped - but she was still walking toward him, right into the pathway of the coach and its horses.

"Stop! Luka, what are you doing? Move!" he cried out desperately.

Reacting to his command, she immediately stopped mid-step and loitered in the middle of the street. She seemed to glance around, as though she didn't even see it coming straight at her, only a few feet away by now.

Alois tried to run toward her, but his legs weren't going to be fast enough and he knew it.

In a split second, Claude had leaped into action; he jumped into the street and wrapped his arm around Remy's waist before yanking her back and out of the way. It was a narrow escape, but somehow the two of them had managed to dodge the danger just in time.

As the carriage continued down the road, Alois hurried over to the red-haired girl who had all but collapsed in Claude's arms. "What was that?" he demanded lividly, his hands balled into fists.

"She's blind in her left eye," the golden-eyed butler observed as he released her, and adjusted his glasses.

Surprised by this information, Alois glanced at Remy questioningly. "Is that true?"

Now standing on her own feet, but still seeming a bit disoriented by what had just happened, the girl gave a small nod.

**Smack!**

The back of his hand collided with her cheek, nearly knocking her off balance. Nonetheless, Alois Trancy didn't have a single ounce of remorse in his eyes as he glared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked," she answered truthfully with a straight face. Her honesty always led Alois to believe that she was mocking him. Remy gingerly rubbed the area on her face now red from the harsh impact.

Exasperated by her behavior, and impatient that their plans had been delayed, Alois extended his hand out toward her. "Hold my hand," he commanded.

Her eyes seemed to scan the area immediately in front of her. It seemed she was able to locate the blur of a white-colored glove, and she at last accepted his hand. Alois squeezed it tightly and pulled her along with him.

"You're not allowed to let go."

"Yes, your highness."

The two of them couldn't have been more of a spectacle; two young boys walking hand in hand through the well-to-do British district. People whispered amongst themselves while watching Remy and Alois, though the blonde-haired nobleman seemed to disregard the mindless rumors.

Remy strangely felt inclined to mention the significance. "They're all going to think you fancy men if we keep holding hands."

He glared over his shoulder back at her. "I said you're not allowed to let go!"

Remy had no particular complaint against holding hands, so while she could still hear the people talking about them, she paid it no mind.

The two of them entered the bakery and ordered a few pastries, all of which Alois gave to Remy, claiming to have lost his appetite. Whether that was true or not, she didn't contest it; she happily devoured the sweets, despite disliking them, to satiate her hunger.

At the appointed time, the earl and his servant took their leave from the shop to head across the now half-deserted street to where Claude was patiently waiting, just as he'd been instructed. This time Alois helped Remy up into the carriage before finally releasing her hand.

Just as he was getting ready to clamber inside himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

"I received word that your uncle will be visiting tomorrow with a priest," Claude informed.

Alois's eyes widened.

* * *

**Author's Note:** My beta reader says that Alois is tsun tsun. I'm not sure about that, though I do think he can be very unpredictable in how he acts. His moods can be all over the place, too. Actually I was reading that a couple of people noticed that he exhibits sexually inappropriate behavior throughout the anime toward other characters, most likely due to his "relationship" with the previous head of Trancy. Anyways I won't bore you by rambling on about psychological analysis of anime characters.

Thank you for the reviews last chapter! They were very inspiring, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Will be back again with another in a week. Updates may slow down after that because of exams and NaNoWriMo but I expect they'll remain weekly/bi-weekly.


	4. Family

The manor was bustling with movement and noise from the moment the sun peered over the horizon. Apparently the task of readying the manor for visitors was a lengthy endeavor. Remy couldn't quite understand why the entire dining hall had been repainted and refurnished.

"Now it will be perfect!" Alois announced with flourish, giggling as he spun in circles around the room, the heels of his boots clicking against the floor. "That old coot won't be able to pester me anymore after this."

The red-haired girl glanced down at her attire, looking just as much a noble as Alois, the reason of which would undoubtedly be questioned by the earl's uncle. "It might be more appropriate if I had a change of clothes for this occasion," she reasoned out loud.

Unaware of her concerns, Alois chuckled as he snatched a rose from one of the vases on the table and danced his way over to Remy. "Nervous about meeting my uncle, Luka?"

"He might not approve of-"

The blonde-haired nobleman quickly pressed the rose in between her lips, careful to avoid the more thorny parts of it from snagging her skin. "This is where I like to display my roses, like this Luka!" he turned away from her and spun in circles again, and then took a slight bow backward, clapping his hands together as he said, "Ole!"

While his strange antics occupied Remy's time, Claude was finishing preparations in other rooms alongside Hannah. The triplets, whose names still escaped Remy's mind, since they all looked similar, tended to the meal preparations.

The hours of the morning dwindled away into noon and slowly into the afternoon, when at last Claude announced the arrival of two coaches. As he heard this news, Alois's facial expression and general demeanor changed drastically. Though his typical behavior was considerably bizarre, albeit cheerful, there seemed to be a large smile permanently pasted upon his lips. The way his hair swished as he moved seemed to emit a sparkling atmosphere. It was altogether creepy, though Remy kept silent about her opinion.

"Time to greet them!" Alois skipped off down the hall, as though he was eager to say hello to their guests.

Though Remy couldn't really see, she followed the sound of his echoing footsteps. She was joined by Claude and the two of them walked side-by-side toward the front entrance.

"You'll arouse suspicion dressed like that," the butler commented with the briefest of glances at her.

She sighed. "Explain that to the master." Although they both knew that was futile.

Once they arrived at the door, which Alois had neglected to close when he burst out to greet the new arrivals, Remy squinted through the sunlight streaming down on them. It was still far too faint and unclear for her to make out much but she managed follow Claude's blurred figure.

She could at least make out the distinct sound of people's voices, particularly Alois's, who seemed to be the loudest. Remy noticed that the sound of the butler's footsteps died out suddenly, and she had to screech to a stop herself to avoid hitting him. Strolling up beside him, she tried to mimic his pose, standing rigid as a statue before bowing in greeting to the new arrivals.

"This way, please," Claude's voice rang as he motioned for the guests to follow him into the manor.

While the earl and his butler took the lead Remy followed up behind the talkative party of newcomers. She could tell very little about them, though the particular one she was following behind seemed to have a burly frame, blonde hair, and a top hat. She could only assume it to be Alois's uncle.

He glanced back at her, scrutinizing both her looks and her attire, before remarking, "Odd way for a servant to dress."

Remy ignored the ill-intended comment though she was mildly surprised when he shoved his top hat into her arms. Not wanting Alois to notice, she gripped the hat in her hands and folded her arms behind her back.

As the group entered the grand hall they paused, while one of the guests - whose name Remy hadn't caught - gushed about the beautiful state of the mansion. In the commotion he caused she managed to discreetly make her way over toward the blur she assumed to be Claude.

"That man's hat," she murmured quietly, holding it out toward him.

He silently took it from her, not even bothering to demand an explanation. Claude understood Alois better than anyone; he knew the commotion that would be caused if they didn't exercise some secrecy.

They spent very little time in the room admiring the idle decorations. Hannah arrived shortly to announce that dinner had been served, just after Alois had wowed the gatherers with a heartfelt sentiment about his deceased father.

Remy silently admired his ability to act, though she saw right through his play at being innocent.

After entering the dining hall, Alois took his seat at the head of the table, appropriate for his position in the Trancy family. The guests also took their seats on either side of the table. Though the room filled with the sound of idle chatter, Alois did not participate, his eyes instead lingering on Remy.

"Luka," he beckoned loudly, "Come and sit with us for dinner. There's an open spot right beside my dear Uncle Arnold."

She flinched, unsure of whether or not to heed her master's wishes.

Noticing her hesitancy, Claude spoke in a low whisper beside her. "It will cause more of a commotion if you don't."

Diffidently, she shuffled across the carpeted floor, her single visible eye squinted narrowly as she laggardly took the seat she was instructed to. It was, perhaps, fortunate she couldn't see the way the burly Arnold seemed to scoff in disgust at being seated beside her.

Alois didn't seem to notice, too busy regaling his other guests with the tale of his deplorable childhood, and how much he'd suffered after being kidnapped from the Trancy household. The way he told the story so eloquently, even Remy found herself almost willing to believe, hanging off of every word as he descriptively weaved his web of falsity.

The others seemed more than willing to accept what they heard, one of the men across from Remy going so far as to ball into his handkerchief after Alois explained how he'd found the boy he regarded as his brother - Andrew - dead. Remy silently picked apart the truth from what she believed to be fiction in her head.

While the priest offered his condolences, as did the viscount, albeit in a peculiar way, Arnold seemed particularly annoyed. It was obvious, despite not being able to make out the expression on his face, but merely by his general disposition that he was unwilling to believe Alois to be the true heir of Trancy.

"I'll be alright," Alois assured them as he stood on his feet, pushing back the chair he'd been sitting in. "I have my dear Uncle Arnold!" To emphasize this, he hurried around the side of the table, brushing past Remy to throw his arms around his biological uncle's neck. He giggled in delight as he flashed a smile to everyone.

Obviously not wanting to seem distant or uncaring to those present, the uncle smiled awkwardly and responded, "A-ah... Yes, of course."

Though she didn't notice, Alois glanced at Remy momentarily before he leaned in toward his uncle's ear. "Hey, Uncle Arnold," he whispered, just loud enough for the red-haired girl to catch wind of what he was saying.

"Hm, what is it?" the man asked, his brows raised somewhat suspiciously as he glanced back at his nephew.

"Don't lean your face too close to me. Your mouth stinks."

Remy struggled to suppress a smile while Arnold flushed red and glared at Alois. The blonde-haired boy merely flashed him a triumphant smirk before returning to his seat. Everyone engaged in idle banter, though Arnold seemed to remain fairly quiet, casting the occasional glare at the head of Trancy while he quietly finished his meal.

As the day came to a close and night approached, the Trancy household said their farewells to the guests. Hannah, tasked with escorting them back out to their coaches, led the way back down the hall to the front entrance.

While Alois was preoccupied with Claude, Remy took the opportunity to retrieve his uncle's top hat, which she promptly returned to the crotchety old coot. "Here you are, sir," she said politely, holding it out toward him.

He sneered at her. "You should learn your place."

"Yes, sir," she answered rigidly, still holding the oversized black hat out toward him.

The blonde-haired man snatched it from her hands and promptly traipsed down the hall after the viscount and priest.

The moment they were gone Alois skipped over toward her. "What did that swine say to you?" he asked in a curious voice, despite his derogatory referral to his uncle.

"He just thanked me," she lied.

The blonde-haired nobleman either didn't believe her, or ignored what she said altogether. "Don't worry," he assured, "I'll make him dance for you this time. Come with me." He snatched her hand into his, and pulled her along with him. "Claude, bring the suitcase and the deeds."

Remy struggled up the stairs as Alois yanked her along. She was disoriented from the fast pace, and unsure where they were going. It wasn't until at last they arrived in his study that she was familiar with the surroundings. She didn't have long to catch her breath, however, as he pulled her over toward the balcony and pushed the doors open.

"Pull up your eye patch," he commanded as they finally came to a stop.

Though she hesitated at first, Remy obeyed the command and lifted her eye patch. Suddenly she was able to see; outside it was dark, and she could see a storm brewing on the horizon. Immediately below the balcony she saw that one of the carriages had already taken its leave. Slightly behind them was Arnold's carriage. The burly nobleman was still making his way out toward it from the manor.

"Wait, Uncle Arnold!" Alois called out.

At that precise moment, Claude finally arrived with a suitcase in one hand and platter full of bills in the other. "As you requested," he spoke fluidly, holding them out toward Alois.

The blonde-haired man down below slowly turned around with a look of mild surprise on his face.

"Here, you can have these!" Alois declared as he opened the suitcase and tipped it over the ledge of the balcony. Printed notes began flying through the air. "These moldy old notes aren't fit to feed a goat with!" He turned momentarily, grabbing several handfuls of the deeds from the platter before throwing them into the air like confetti. "Here, deeds to land! I'll give you horses, too! Take all of it!"

The moment he saw the notes landing on the ground Arnold lost his composure and scrambled to pick them up. His hat tipped off the side of his head and hit the ground before rolling partway under the carriage. He didn't seem to notice, now yanking his coachman down to help him pick up the deeds and the bills.

"Look at him bluster around, Luka," Alois trilled as he jabbed a finger in the direction of his scrambling uncle, "It's like he's dancing! What a pitiful sight!" However his laughter stopped abruptly as he noticed that neither Luka nor Claude were laughing or expressing any sort of amusement at the spectacle. "Luka. Claude."

"Hm?"

"Yes?"

"You laugh too."

Claude glanced at him sidelong, and there was no indication by the look on his face that he had any interest in partaking in this tomfoolery.

Similarly, Remy felt disinclined to fake a laugh. She felt no amount of amusement at watching the old man dart across the ground with a pile of notes in his arms.

Mildly frustrated at their lack of cooperation, Alois breathed an exasperated sigh. At that same moment the wind seemed to pick up, buffeting them with a cold breeze as the sound of thunder crackled in the distance. "There's a storm coming."

—

"Come on, someone's here."

With the eye patch secured over her left eye once again, Remy found it difficult to navigate the house with her poor vision. Alois now habitually held her hand as he pulled her along through the house. For her it was jerky, uncomfortable, and loathsome to be so reliant and dependent, but Alois seemed to take joy in the fact that she 'needed' him to get anywhere.

Rain was pouring down outside, crashing against the windows and the roof of the house. The sound of it reverberated through the empty mansion alongside the crash of thunder and the sudden bursts of lightning.

Despite the noise she could hear a voice as they approached the entryway. "Might I trouble you for a night's lodgings?"

As they finally reached the entrance, Alois released her hand and so Remy stood quietly behind Claude as she listened. The blonde haired boy let out a gasp of fascination as he peeked around his butler at the stranger. "Wow!" he exclaimed in excitement, running past Claude and standing on his tiptoes to inspect the weary traveler. "He's just so filthy! He's like a drowned rat! But..." Alois leaned in toward the strange, and sniffed. "You smell nice. What's your name?"

The stranger didn't answer, and as usual, Alois didn't allow him the chance before turning to Claude and saying, "We'll let him stay with us. Got that, Claude?"

Though she kept silent about her own misgivings about this mysterious traveler, Remy could sense something about him. The air he gave off mirrored that of the golden-eyed butler in front of her. It made her feel a bit uneasy, but as always, she found herself to be a tag-along as Alois dictated that they would provide the stranger with an evening meal before showing him to his room.

"I wonder what's in that trunk..." Alois murmured to himself, having for the moment retreated to his study while the guest settled into his room.

Against her better judgment Remy made a suggestion. "You could ask him about it."

He clapped to his hands together, his eyes coming alight at the suggestion. "You're right, Luka!" As though he hadn't already been planning to himself. The chair rolled out from under him as he took to his feet and strode across the burgundy carpet and brushed past Remy.

"Your highness," she called after him, unsure whether or not she should follow.

It was quiet and there was no reply. Apparently he'd already hastily sped down the hallway and out of earshot by the time she'd spoken up. Left to her own devices, Remy wanted nothing more than to retire early after an exhaustingly long day. Yet she couldn't, for in the back of her mind lingered the distinct notion that something was off. Something about that traveler...

As she slipped out from Alois's study into the hallway, Remy collided against something hard as stone. She almost toppled to the ground, but a hand on her shoulder managed to steady her.

Squinting, she narrowly managed to make out the ever-somber Claude who's hulking figure towered over her. "Butler," she at last acknowledged, eyeing him apprehensively.

He seemed to regard her with the same amount of suspicion. "Luka."

"You don't trust that traveler, do you?"

"That is unimportant," the steely man dismissed as he brushed past her.

Judging by the direction he seemed to be walking to briskly off toward, it was more important than Claude was letting on. Disinclined to pry any farther into the matter, Remy turned and felt her way down the hallway, hand pressed against the wall to guide her.

As she descended the stairs and turned to head toward her room, she heard commotion coming from another part of the house. The sound of Alois's yelling, followed shortly thereafter by the distinct sound of plates shattering.

Though not particularly alarmed by the commotion, Remy did find herself interested in whatever happened to be developing. She struggled to sprint down the hallway, her hand gliding against the length of the wall as she moved forward.

Just as she reached the doors leading into the main hall, she heard a crashing sound that seemed to almost jolt her off her feet. It was followed by a shrill scream that she could only recognize as Alois's voice.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Gasp! Finally following an episode of the anime. Hope you guys enjoyed reading. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I was really happy to receive all of your comments and I tried to reply to most of you, but I kind of lost track (I admit it, I'm an airhead). Either way, thank you. Another thank you to my beta reader who has been more helpful to me than he knows. Before I bore you (if I haven't already) I just wanted to let everyone know that updates will probably be bi-weekly from now on because of exams and NaNoWriMo. So see you again in about two weeks!


	5. Unforgiving

"Don't leave me, Luka."

Though she was nearly suffocating with her face pressed so firmly against his chest that she could barely breathe, let alone speak, Remy managed to mutter, "Yes, your highness."

Since the events earlier that night had transpired Alois had been particularly unsettled by the darkness caused by the destroyed chandelier. For whatever reason he continued to be affected, clinging to Remy incessantly. He had similarly attached himself to Claude earlier despite commanding all of his servants to pursue the reckless traveler that had so destructively made his departure.

Now securely wrapped beneath a thick, warm blanket with Remy at his side, Alois felt some amount of security. Still, insomnia seemed to plague him as he found sleep impossible. Those light blue eyes of his stared into nothingness as he continued muttering to himself, the flood of memories still fresh in his mind.

Remy could feel the quick vibration of his heartbeat against her face. His musky scent flooded her nose, like the sweet smell of incense. It resembled sandalwood, an earthy aroma that reminded her of the woods near her home. She inhaled sharply and reminisced to herself.

"Luka..."

The sound of his voice caught her attention, and Remy was abruptly jerked from her reverie. "Yes?" she responded tiredly, her eyelids weighing down from lack of sleep.

His chin rubbed against the top of her head as he spoke, his voice filled with a venomous loathing. "Sebastian Michaelis... It's his fault you died, Luka. That's why I need Ciel. I need to crush him."

Alois wasn't truly speaking to her and she knew it. Rather, he was speaking to the memory of a person named Luka. The tone of his voice was almost ethereal, like a quiet whisper that brushed past her ear.

"How will you crush him?" she asked finally, if only to indulge him.

For whatever reason, at that moment, Alois pulled away from Remy and glanced down into her face. He took comfort in the familiarity of that brown eye of hers which so resembled Luka's. It settled the tumultuous storm brewing inside of him. And though she couldn't see, Alois wore a deranged smile on his smooth, pale lips as he announced, "The plan is already in motion."

—

"With this even you could look like a girl, Luka." He giggled mischievously as he held the frilly pink dress up against her. "Ohh, it suits you." Sarcasm dripped so heavily in the tone of his voice that it was impossible to miss. However, much to his disappointment, Remy was unresponsive to his jabs at her.

It had been a little over a week since he'd sent Claude off to chase down the people called Sebastian and Ciel. Alois had sent his butler with an invitation to a ball, in which he hoped to lure his prey. In the meantime Remy became the causality of his odd quirks and childish antics.

Much like Claude, she revealed little in her expressions and never so much as flashed him a smile or batted an eye. He didn't bother to be curious about the reason why; Alois was intent on continuing their charade, seeing Remy as nothing more than replacement for his brother.

"Put it on," he challenged at last, exhausted by her expressionless face.

"It's not appropriate for a boy to wear such a gown."

Although he was displeased with her lack of compliance, Alois was already bored of the idea. He threw the gown back onto his bed and breathed a sigh, sliding his fingers through the locks of his sunny blonde hair.

_Click, clack..._

The heels of Remy's boots tapped against the floor as she glided across the room and stopped over at the windows, apparently peering out of them. It was still midday out, and the blinding rays of the sun peeked in through the half-open curtains.

"You want to go outside, Luka?" Alois inquired earnestly, skipping over toward Remy with a grin spread across his face.

"Didn't you say you wanted to pick out your costume first?"

Feeling mischievous, he leaned in toward her, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear, "Why, Luka? Did you want to see me naked?"

Unsettled by how he invaded her space so suddenly, Remy jerkily stumbled away from her, rubbing her ear furiously. "No, your highness. That wouldn't be appropriate," she muttered.

He laughed triumphantly, satisfied that he'd finally earned a reaction.

"E-excuse me," Hannah's timid voice interrupted as she entered from the hallway, her head bowed respectfully. She didn't dare look Alois in the eyes.

The blonde-haired boy scowled, his arms crossed over his chest. "What is it?"

"Afternoon tea."

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he traipsed over toward her. The sound of his footsteps echoed hollowly in Hannah's ears and she flinched as he reached his fingers out and snatched the cup from the platter she was holding. That smirk on his lips and the deadly gleam in his eyes spelled out his ill-intent; he was planning on throwing the steaming hot liquid in her face.

"I want to go outside," Remy spoke suddenly, as though she could sense what was happening despite being unable to see it.

Much to Hannah's surprise, and relief, Alois set the cup back down on the plate, and turned toward Remy with a smile plastered across his lips. "That's a great idea!" he exclaimed exuberantly. "I can take you on a horse ride, Luka."

The thin line of Remy's lips turned down into a frown. "Horse ride...?"

"You did say you wanted to go outside," he jeered.

Her stomach lurched at the thought of mounting one of those unruly beasts and Remy grimaced. "I couldn't see well enough to maneuver on one, and I lack any experience in riding." It was an excuse, but a legitimate one.

Alois strode across the floor, having forgotten Hannah behind him, and stopped just a few inches away from the red-haired girl still standing in the sunlight. He outstretched his hand, and gently caressed her cheek. The cold band of his ring smarted against Remy's cheek but she didn't flinch away. "Don't worry," he cooed, "You can ride with me, Luka."

While his words and actions had the appearance of being sweet, Remy felt as though he was mocking her. It was a subtle taunt and she could feel that Alois was trying to gauge her reaction. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of flustering her again. "If we must," Remy finally conceded.

During the exchange, Hannah had silently pardoned herself, all too relieved that she'd managed to leave unscathed. Silently, she thanked Remy for providing a distraction, even if it proved to be at Remy's own expense. It seemed that Claude's absence had caused Alois to be especially mischievous and restless.

Approximately twenty minutes later the purple-haired triplets had procured a beautiful white steed from the Trancy stables, wearing an exquisite saddle and reigns. Any other person would have gawked at the beautiful creature with its silver-colored hair and large luminous eyes.

Remy, on the other hand, regarded it with great apprehension. "Are you sure we need to ride this thing?" she asked again, still uncomfortable with the idea of riding on something so unsteady and so high off the ground.

Ignoring the question, Alois lifted himself up onto horse which stood patiently and obediently for him. He then outstretched his hand toward Remy with a smug grin on his face. "Not scared, are you, Luka?"

Scared was certainly an accurate description and she felt out of place in the equestrian clothes he'd forced her to wear. The strap of the helmet dug into the bottom of her chin, and while it was kind enough to shield her from the sun, it obscured her already blurry vision that much more.

"Take my hand." He didn't say it kindly this time, it was forceful and abrasive, just like his personality.

Nonetheless she reached up toward him and he caught her hand. Remy struggled to mount the creature, and while at last she was able to, she did so clumsily. She was forced to straddle the horse's back, and the since the size of the saddle was unfit for two riders, she sat precariously on its ridge. Though she debated whether or not to voice these complaints, she wasn't given the opportunity.

On Alois's command the horse had begun galloping. Remy was nearly thrown off but managed to throw her arms around Alois's waist just in time to steady herself as she teetered from side to side.

He chortled at her actions, and it seemed that his whole intent was to force Remy to cling to him.

The red-haired girl wasn't too concerned about his intentions; she was too busy with her face pressed against his back praying that he would get bored of this venture before she became nauseous.

Eventually the horse slowed to a gentle trot, the clomping sound of its hooves against grassy hills echoing in her ears. Remy cautiously peered at their surroundings and noticed now that the manor was a good distance away. Chagrined by this, she tightened her grip around Alois.

"Using this as an excuse to hold onto me, huh, Luka?" he taunted.

"Claude should be your riding partner, not I..."

The smile slowly faded from his lips. "Hmpf, he doesn't like horses much, either."

That news came of no surprise to Remy. She could hear the wistfulness in Alois's voice, as though talking about the butler stirred up a lonely feeling from him. "Do you miss him?" she asked earnestly.

"No," he snapped back indignantly.

"He's a demon, isn't he?"

A smirk crawled up on his lips. "Oh? You noticed, huh?" Alois suddenly forced the horse to stop, his gaze focused toward the Trancy estate now in the not-so-far distance. "In exchange for my soul, I get to crush Sebastian by destroying Ciel. It's the perfect revenge for what he did to you, Luka."

"I'll help you," she said suddenly.

"No." He nudged the horse back into motion with his spurs. "It would be bad if you got hurt, Luka."

"I'm not Luka."

Flabbergasted at her words, Alois's jaw dropped agape. It was the first time she'd ever denied the identity he'd forced upon her. Anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach as his grip on the reins tightened. "What are you talking about, Luka?" he hissed intolerantly.

Though she understood the insinuated warning in his question, Remy ignored it. "I'm not Luka," she repeated, as though he hadn't heard her the first time.

Suddenly his elbow jabbed her right in the middle of her chest, hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Shocked by this, Remy instinctively released her grip around him. The rocky pace at which the horse had began galloping threw her off balance, and before she was able to catch her breath, Remy found herself tipped off the back of the horse.

Everything seemed to play in slow motion as she was flung through the air, where she loitered for what, to her, seemed like forever. In her blurred vision, she could only vaguely distinguish the white of the horse contrasted against the emerald green of the grass.

The realization that she'd fallen off came too late as she finally crashed against the ground with a resounding thud that seemed to echo loudly in the empty area around her. All of the oxygen fled from her lungs as her mouth opened in a gasp from the impact. She struggled to breathe, but as her head collided with the earth, her eyes rolled back and everything turned to darkness.

—

There was a dull ache in almost every part of her body as she weakly forced her eyelids open. Remy couldn't even find the strength to lift herself up, though she was vaguely aware of a warmth covering her left hand. The only other thing she could distinguish was the comfort of a mattress below her and the thick blanket she was tucked beneath.

It was difficult for her to see with her distorted vision, but she could tell night had already descended upon them. The room was dark with only the dim flicker of a candle. Apparently, she thought, she must have passed out from the impact of her fall.

"You're awake," a voice remarked as the blonde-haired nobleman peeked up at her from the side of the bed. He seemed to be sitting on the edge of a well-cushioned chair.

Remy suddenly became aware that the warmth encompassing her hand was actually Alois's own hand. Her mind whirled with thoughts, and she couldn't even begin to think of words to say. She didn't have to; Alois didn't give her the opportunity to speak.

"I was so worried," he spoke in almost a whisper as he leaned toward her face. "How are you feeling?"

The tone of his voice dripped with a venom unfamiliar to Remy, and yet she found herself at his mercy. Her body was too sore to even move, let alone fight off the wolf towering over her. "I'm feeling fine," she lied.

A smile crept up onto his face as he nodded approvingly at her answer. His eyes seemed to gleam with ill intent as he stared down at her. "That's good. You still remember who you are, don't you? What's your name?" His fingers constricted around her hand threateningly as he waited expectantly for his response.

Though she'd already suspected, Remy now knew his actions toward her had been intentional. Throwing her off that horse had been nothing more than a warning he had issued her, and it spelled itself out before her... If she didn't continue their masquerade then some very unfortunate accidents would befall her. Compliance was her only option.

"Luka," she mumbled, "My name is Luka."

The menacing glare faded away as Alois, satisfied with her answer, resumed his usual lofty grin. "It was so silly for you to let go right in the middle of the ride. You're no good with horses, Luka."

"Yes, I don't think I have any talent at riding."

"Hannah," Alois beckoned, turning his gaze away from Remy to peer over at the maid standing silently in the doorway.

Her head jerked at the sound of her name. "Y-yes?" she stuttered out nervously.

"Go get that costume in my room. The one we picked out for Luka." It was the first time he hadn't said something threatening toward her; Alois, for once, seemed in a genuinely good mood. Hannah quickly bowed her head before excusing herself to fulfill her master's orders.

Though Remy felt she was no longer in a position to protest wearing any costume, she at the very least hoped that Alois had reconsidered forcing her to wear a dress.

Several minutes passed as the silver-haired maid hurried to the upstairs master suite to retrieve said costume. In her absence, the room fell into complete silence that Remy thought better to leave undisturbed. Alois had his back turned toward her, waiting rather impatiently for Hannah to return with the outfit. When at last she did, the blonde-haired nobleman opened his mouth to chide her, but was interrupted by Remy's voice breaking through the silence. "What does it look like?"

Approaching the bed slowly, Hannah tentatively held the outfit out toward the expectant Alois who snatched it from her. Expecting him to hit her, the dark-skinned maid cowered in anticipation, but it never came. Curious, she peeked up toward him, only to find that he had splayed the outfit across Remy's lap and was guiding her hands over it while explaining its design. From what Remy could feel with her hands, and understand by what she was being told, it was a pirate costume. Apparently Alois thought it fit the eye patch she was wearing.

After a lengthy discussion about the outfit, in which Alois taunted and jabbed Remy with insults at every chance he got, for the pure amusement of watching her reactions, he at last stood up. "I'm going to bed, I'll be sure to come wake you up in the morning, Luka." He literally sang the words to her as he pulled the outfit away, held it up to himself and twirled around the room.

"Good night, your highness," she called after him.

He giggled as he skipped down the hallway, his laughter fading into the distance.

"Was there anything you needed?" Hannah asked politely as she gazed after the giddy nobleman.

"Are you a demon too, Hannah?"

The question was mildly shocking, though the surprise quickly faded away from the maid's face. "Yes," she breathed out quietly, as though reluctant to divulge the information, regardless of its authenticity.

Reaching her trembling hand up, Remy took hold of the eye patch covering her left eye and yanked it off. Though she struggled, she managed to sit up though every bone in her body screamed in agony and resistance. She looked Hannah dead in the eye and said, "Make a contract with me."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hate to read cliffhangers, love to write them. I had so much fun with this chapter, which has been my favorite so far. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed it just as much. Big thanks to all the reviews from the previous chapter and thanks for sticking with me, and a big thanks to my beta reader. I hope those of you who are also participating in NaNoWriMo are having fun and that hopefully you're able to keep up with your daily goals as you strive to reach those 50,000 words. I've been fortunate to have had time to write 10,000 already. Anyways, that's all for now. Will see you all again in a couple of weeks with the next chapter.


	6. Helpless Despair

"Luka, your eye patch is covering the wrong eye," Alois observed from across the breakfast table. He motioned to her with his silver cutting knife, one arm resting precariously on the table with his chin balanced on top of his open, upward facing palm. Those half-hooded blue eyes of his stared over at her with a mixed look of boredom and curiosity.

The red-haired female continued to sip at her tea, taking the occasional bite out of her bread while intentionally ignoring his comment. She didn't even look up at him, instead her gaze focused down toward her lap.

Impatiently, Alois released the utensil from his hand and allowed it to clatter against his half-empty plate as he stood abruptly. Strolling around the side of the table, he stopped just beside Remy's chair. "Fix it," the boy demanded.

She peered up at him with that disgusting sea blue eye of hers, unresponsive to his demand.

Frustrated by her unwillingness to comply, Alois angrily reached toward her face and grasped hold of the eye patch. Just as he ripped it off of her face, Alois dropped the eye patch onto the floor in shock and horror. That eye that so resembled his brothers was marred by the glow of a Faustian contract in the form of a teal star.

"What is this?" he gasped in disbelief, flabbergasted by what he was seeing. The blonde-haired boy gently grasped Remy's face by either cheek, lifting her head up toward him so that he could see it clearly. No matter how many times he tried to blink it away, trying to convince himself it was an illusion, it was not. "Why?" he breathed out questioningly with a desperate look on his face.

"I'm going to help you capture Ciel," she responded.

"Why?" He despaired, his gaze still firmly fixated on the design drawn into the surface of her iris.

"Because that is your wish."

"Why this eye?" he seethed out in a voice of desperation. Perhaps that had been his real question all along and Remy had misinterpreted his concern. His thumb pressed firmly into her skin as he squeezed her face. The expression on his own face had contorted into a look of mixed disgust and anguish as he waited for her answer. Though Remy suspected he didn't care what she said.

"I hate that eye." Her voice lacked any emotion even as she used such a powerful word as hate to describe her feelings about her eye. It alluded to a deeper meaning behind using her eye as the medium for the contract, but Remy offered no further explanation.

And although she said it as though it was the simplest answer in the world, it wasn't good enough for Alois. He wasn't satisfied. "Who signed the contract with you?" he persisted. "Was it..." Suddenly he paused and gazed over at the dark-skinned maid standing at the edge of the room with her chin tucked against her chest. "It was Hannah, wasn't it?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement - Alois already knew.

Releasing Remy's face, he extended his fingers toward the table and took hold of one of the knives. Holding it up to his face, he inspected it thoroughly before rounding Remy's chair and ambling over toward where Hannah was standing. "Was it you?" he asked accusingly.

Her head jerked as she peered hesitantly up toward him. "Y-yes, master," she admitted ruefully.

As though every amount of patience and tolerance in him had snapped, Alois roughly grabbed a handful of Hannah's hair and yanked her to the ground. She let out a shrill, anguished cry as she reached her hand up to her scalp. "Lift up your chin," he commanded, brandishing the silvery utensil in the air.

Not one to ignore her master's command, Hannah obediently lifted her head.

"Alois, wait-"

"Silence," he hissed as he suddenly thrust the blade into Hannah's open right eye. Blood spurted out across the surface of the knife and across Alois's pale skin. Rivulets trickled down the length of Hannah's face and dripped onto the floor as she gasped in pain. "There, now that I've carved out your right eye in replacement for Luka's, that should be sufficient." He smiled sweetly as he yanked the blade from her bleeding socket.

Standing just a short distance behind him, Remy watched with a look of horror on her face.

Although he'd played it off as though he was satisfied at having gouged Hannah's eye out, Alois soon displayed the extent of his anger. He lifted his leg and repeatedly slammed his foot against Hannah's ribcage, cackling maniacally as she screamed in agony.

"Stop!" Remy screamed at last. Her footsteps echoed through the room as she rushed over to Alois and threw her arms around him.

Finally, Alois released his hold on Hannah's hair and allowed her to crumple onto the floor in front of him. Smiling blithely, he turned around toward Remy and patted her on the head. "It's alright, Luka. It's not your fault."

No matter how aloof she appeared, Remy found herself trembling from the sight of Hannah's blood. Although she had prepared herself for some form of retaliation from Alois, he hadn't failed to catch her off guard. Her whole body was trembling as her stomach twisted in such tight knots that Remy felt so nauseous she couldn't hold it in anymore. Shoving Alois away, Remy collapsed onto her hands and knees as she wretched, spilling the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

"See, Hannah? You're making Luka nauseous. Get her out of here." The sound of the triplets' footsteps pounded in her ears. Alois knelt down beside her, rubbing her back soothingly as he cooed, "It's alright, Luka. I'll talk to Claude when he gets back and we'll fix the contract."

Remy was too stunned by what she'd seen to form a coherent reply. She was like a rag doll, her limbs dangling helplessly as Alois hoisted her up by pulling her arm around his shoulder. Her head seemed to lull about as she numbly trudged alongside him as he guided her out of the room.

They passed through the hallways, intricately decorated with elaborate wall hangings and beautifully carpeted floors. Everything seemed little more than an indiscernible blur to Remy, who scrambled to gather her fragmented thoughts as Alois pulled her along. She had little recognition of what direction they were headed.

When finally reality seemed to come rushing back to her, Remy stopped walking. Mildly concerned for Hannah's wellbeing, she jerked away from Alois's grasp and turned to venture back down the hallway.

"Luka, stop."

That commanding voice of his that rang in Remy's ears caused her legs to freeze up. Standing rigidly with her back turned to him, she ventured out a request, "Allow me to check Hannah's condition, your highness."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "No."

It was the answer she had anticipated from Alois. Reluctantly, Remy turned back toward him. Despite being shaken up from the ordeal, she knew better than to test his patience again. She didn't want to see Hannah's only remaining eye gouged out as well.

"Don't worry, Luka." Those words broke through the comforting silence between them, followed immediately by the hollow echo of his footsteps as he approached her. He reached out with those bony fingers of his, mildly surprised when she seemed to cringe at his touch. "Do I disgust you?"

To be sure, Remy was appalled by his actions. Her own behavior was perhaps a product of her emotions which had been stirred up from the event. Although she tried to banish them to the back of her mind, they lingered. She swallowed back the bitterness of the words that crawled up from the depths of her throat, like the acrid taste of bile. "No."

He leaned in close, and the warmth of his breath crawled across her skin like a serpent as he spoke. "You're lying, Luka."

Remy flinched.

"See?" he chuckled darkly as he reached forward and took her hand in his. "Come, Luka! We'll go down by the lake today." Much like a child on an early Christmas morning, Alois was beaming happily again as he pulled her along.

Even though she'd spent so much time with him Remy couldn't comprehend why or how he was able to change his mood so quickly.

—

The day for the ball was fast approaching and with no sign of Claude, Alois had become restless. While Hannah bore the brunt of his physical outbursts, Remy endured the emotional drain of his ill-intended antics. It wasn't until late into the night, just before the ball itself, that Claude finally returned to the Trancy estate. Despite being the last to know, Remy was one of the first he made a personal visit to.

"So you're finally back," she remarked dully when she noticed him lingering in the threshold of her room.

"The master informed me that you formed a contract with Hannah."

Remy had suspected as much. She sat up in her bed, peeling away the blankets from her body as she lifted herself onto her feet. "What business, then, do you have with me?" Her bare feet shuffled across the beige carpet as she stopped short of the towering man's figure.

He regarded her much like an insect, his golden eyes narrowed as he glared down at her through his spectacles. "I must know the stipulations of your contract."

"To help his highness in the capture of this Ciel Phantomhive."

Claude's face revealed no skepticism although he seemed reluctant to believe her words. "Is that all?"

Remy gave him a firm nod.

Seemingly without any other questions worth asking, the butler turned on his heel to leave. The sound of his tailcoat rippling from the movement disrupted the silence that then settled between them, if only for a moment. Then, suddenly, he paused, as though something crossed his mind. "Should my master command, I will see that contract nullified," he warned, though his voice retained its normal lack of emotion.

"I don't need you to tell me that."

Without even so much as a glance casted back in her direction, he abruptly stalked off. Since the night was still long and Remy could feel the weight of exhaustion in every limb in her body, she crawled back into her bed after blowing out the candle. Sleep set in quickly.

In the early morning sunlight Remy groggily rose from her bed and, with Hannah's assistance, dressed for the day. Breakfast proved to be as routinely ordinary as ever. It was everything that happened after breakfast that was not only unique but tedious as well. Claude and the other servants busied themselves with receiving guests while Alois temporarily left the estate on business. As though trying to keep Remy separated from Hannah, he took the maid with him though he clearly was less than enthusiastic about having her along. It was the first time Remy had been allowed time to herself since arriving at the estate. Nonetheless, Alois placed a specific condition on her; she wasn't allowed to see any of the guests. She found herself restricted to going between his room and his study.

There was a plethora of books aligning one of the walls of the study. All appeared to be almost ancient tomes from how old they looked. Remy didn't even attempt to take one down and peer into its pages. Like most women of her time and stature, she was illiterate. Still, she could appreciate the paintings on the walls, however boring that happened to be.

Remy couldn't fathom why Alois had been so intent on leaving her behind during his venture. Although she frequently tired of his antics, she would have preferred his company than the solitude of his quiet study. Meanwhile, downstairs, she could hear the bustling movement and boisterous chatter of the guests.

At the very least, she wasn't left to herself for long. Several hours had indeed passed but Alois returned quite timely in the late afternoon while the stun still soared high in cloudless sky. Remy followed him along to his room where he commanded Hannah to lay out the outfits he'd collected. Despite the wide array of well-made and detailed outfits, he was satisfied by none of them.

He held up one, giving it a brief glance before thrusting it aside and picking up another. "Shit," the blonde haired nobleman growled in dismay. "This one and this one too!" For whatever reason, he'd returned in a fouler mood than when he had left. In the midst of casting all of the costumes aside, Alois paused. A mischievous look crawled onto his face as he peered over at Remy. "Hannah, bring out Luka's outfit."

Remy, who had been standing idly nearby with her gaze averted to the floor, barely registered his exchange with the dark-skinned maid. She silently hoped that Alois would take the pirate outfit he'd bought for her and wear it himself, sparing her the need to participate in such a foolish masquerade.

But Alois had other intentions.

After Hannah passed out of the folded costume to him, he trailed across the floor over to Remy, smiling blithely. "Here is your costume, Luka. That eye patch you're wearing will fit with it perfectly." Taking that as her cue to leave and change, she accepted the clothing with an obedient bow and turned to leave. Alois caught hold of her arm as he breathed out the question, "Where are you going?"

Apprehensive, she furrowed her brows at him. "I was leaving to change."

That lopsided, deranged smile on his face only seemed to grow. "You don't need to leave. Change here."

"That wouldn't be appropriate," she reminded him tirelessly.

Alois's grip tightened. "I'm commanding you to change here."

Although confounded as to why he was so insistent about it, Remy acquiesced as she set the folded costume on the bed and began undressing herself. She peered into Alois's eyes briefly, and caught him watching her placidly with a look of indifference.

First she unlaced the boots, pulled them off, and proceeded to unbutton her vest. Remy steadily held Alois's gaze as she peeled the layers of clothing away. The clothes crumpled to the ground and although she felt the sting of embarrassment that colored her face, Remy proceeded resolutely. Eventually her bare skin was exposed to him, with only a single undergarment covering her lower half. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed he was still watching her.

"Hurry up and change," he said impatiently.

Her lips tightened. "Yes, your highness." Remy hastily grabbed the costume and donned it as quickly as possible. At the very least, she was glad that he'd made no sarcastic jabs about her body. He seemed as perfectly uninterested in it as he always had, his attention already turned elsewhere.

Claude had apparently entered the room sometime in the midst of Remy dressing herself. As taciturn as always, he'd kept his presence unnoticed until Alois glanced back at the doorway where he'd been standing.

"Where is he?" Alois asked abruptly, the usual hint of cheerfulness gone from his voice.

"He arrived earlier." Claude responded obediently and gave a respectful bow toward his master.

"I was choosing a costume. You wear one too, Claude. How about something like this?" He grabbed a fancy pink dress with intricate decor that any lady would have envied, and played it against Claude, literally hanging the garment off of his shoulder. Alois clapped his hands together and bent backwards after saying, "Ole!"

Silence filled the room as Claude peered down at him wordlessly, no hint of amusement apparent on his face. Both Remy and Hannah had similar expressions themselves. All were apprehensive about the young master's behavior. Despite his usual moodiness, he wasn't typically so bitter and ill-tempered. (Though Remy might've been willing to argue that point.)

At last Alois breathed a sigh, disappointment etched on every feature of his face as he snatched the dress away and tossed it to the ground. "All of the costumes you brought me are bloody useless!" he declared scornfully. Suddenly his eyes narrowed at Hannah. "Strip, Hannah."

She faithfully followed his command without any hesitation. To respect Hannah's privacy, although the other two men watched on in silence, Remy tore her gaze away and turned her back. She refused to partake in such open mockery.

"Luka."

She glanced sidelong at the boy calling her name without responding.

"Claude and I will deal with Ciel. Stay behind with Hannah."

"Yes, your highness."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! It's been hard to update because of NaNo but I really enjoy writing this story. (Okay, honestly, this is all probably an excuse to take a break from writing in NaNo, I'm behind on my word count right now. I admit it. I may be up late at night for the next week with caffeine desperately trying to finish in time.) But more importantly I'm glad to hear people are enjoying it! Thanks to my beta reader for tirelessly reading and reassuring me throughout.

**Important - **Since there might be a little confusion... This story took place prior to Alois gouging out Hannah's left eye. That's the eye he originally gouged out in the anime. In Masquerade he gouges out her right eye and her left eye is intact. Which he did for "compensation" because Remy's right eye (the brown eye) has the Faustian contract, which thereby "ruined" her eye. Her blue eye, which she can see out of, is her left eye. Hope that makes sense. All these eye patches... Must be a running gag.


	7. Jealousy is Her Dancing Partner

People were strewn about the floor on their knees, writhing in agony at the haunting refrain that drifted through the air. Like a song of sirens it played a mesmerizing melody that captured the hearts of those listening. Remy watched from the shadows where Hannah had instructed her to wait, as were Alois's orders. She was to remain unseen until he returned. So from the darkness she watched chaos emerge.

The enchantment didn't last long as Remy soon noticed; those possessed by the music lost the malicious gleam in their eyes. It seemed as though the plan Hannah had been set to carry out had gone awry, and although Remy was not in full view to assess the situation, she assumed it had something to do with the Phantomhive boy and his demon butler.

_Does that mean Alois and Claude failed?_ She had no time to ponder the question, because despite the cotton stuffed in her ear, she could hear a faint yet earsplitting noise. The glass instrument had shattered and Hannah had collapsed onto the floor. Kneeling down beside her was an unfamiliar man who seemed to be whispering something into her ear.

Curious about the stranger and his intent, Remy began to move toward them but something caught her arm. Through the darkness she squinted and could see the silhouette of a tall figure, which she could only assume to be Claude. She took the hint to follow him, pulling the cotton from her ears before stuffing it discreetly into her pocket.

"So that was Phantomhive's butler?"

He gave a vague inclination of a nod as they walked together in silence.

Claude led her into one of the main hallways where the purple-haired triplets were waiting quietly. The way they presented themselves in clothes that almost seemed as though they had just been recently ironed without a speck of dirt in sight, gave the impression that they hadn't seen a battle at all.

"Luka!"

Remy glanced down the hallway where she saw the earl of Trancy ambling toward her in a new costume. It was a purple suit accentuated by gold buttons and an intricate black hem on the jacket. Another black accessory lined his shoulders while a hat sat crookedly atop his head. In the bounce of his step, she could see red wings flapping behind him. Was he supposed to resemble a demon? Silently, Remy thought he did that well enough without a costume.

"Let's enjoy the ball together." He flashed her a smile and reached out for her hand.

For a moment she eyed his hand apprehensively. "It would be better if we didn't," she said matter-of-factly, "People might think it strange."

The ire on his face was apparent as he scoffed at her blatant refusal. "Fine," he huffed as he brushed past her, "Let's go."

As they approached the main room where all of the guests were dancing, Remy could make out the audible chatter, though she was unable to distinguish one voice from the other. She kept close by Alois's side as they passed through the threshold and into the well-lit room packed full of people engaged in idle banter.

One voice in particular - that of an Indian man's - stood out. "...But what was all this fuss about?"

Alois momentarily paused at the entrance, and Remy followed his lead. "It was simply a diversion for my guests," his regal tone declared, interrupting the conversation. While he strolled forward, Remy lingered just a short distance behind him, her single visible eye scrutinizing the various guests. "Ladies and gentleman, I'm so sorry I am late. I am Alois Trancy. I'm honored to make your acquaintance." The other servants followed behind the two of them as the earl stopped shortly in front of Hannah, standing beside the now broken armonica. The dark-skinned maid kept her head down while he glared back at her with a look of mild disgust. It didn't last long as he resumed his normal cheerful but polite disposition as he turned to the murmuring guests who seemed to be whispering among themselves. "I'm relieved to see you enjoyed the entertainment while I was away."

Something seemed to have caught his eye, and while the triplets carried Hannah and the armonica away, Alois made his way over toward what appeared to be a boy of equal age and his butler. Remy followed along, her eyes studying both the boy and the tall figure beside him.

Coincidentally enough - or perhaps it was no coincidence at all - the boy she assumed to be Ciel was also wearing a pirate outfit. An eye patch covered his right eye, leaving only his left eye visible, its color a captivating azure. Tendrils of grayish-blue hair lined his young face, skin a pale white.

In stark contrast, the butler beside him was clothed in an ordinary suit. His appearance, in many ways, seemed to mirror Claude, though his hair appeared to be longer and more unkempt. Those eyes of his were a subtle auburn color that vaguely reminded Remy of autumn leaves.

"That performance was magnificent. You have great musical talent." The sound of Alois's voice broke through her observation. Alois, Claude, and Remy stopped just a few feet directly in front of their guests.

Humbly, the butler bowed his head with his hand to his chest. "I'm afraid I do not deserve such praise. You see, I am merely one hell of a butler." _A demon and a butler,_ Remy silently corrected, silently noting his play on the wording.

"You have an excellent butler, Earl Phantomhive."

The boy seemed to disregard the praise, brushing it aside by saying, "He's just a butler."

"Young master..." The butler drawled coolly, a small smile on his face. "I'd like to have a word with Claude, if you wouldn't mind?"

Before Ciel could respond, Alois glanced back at Claude and said, "Why not, Claude?" Suddenly those eyes of his narrowed dangerously as Alois leaned closer toward his butler. "Ten minutes. Settle this in ten minutes. If you can't, you'll be punished."

Though the words were said in a dangerously low growl, Claude obediently replied, "Yes, your highness." Both butlers excused themselves quickly while leaving Ciel, who seemed to be intently glaring at Alois, and Alois, who seemed entirely unfazed by the hateful look. The intense trade of emotions stopped only abruptly when the Earl of Phantomhive casually glanced in Remy's direction.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Earl." She politely dipped her chin in a slight bow. "My name is Luka." Though she introduced herself flawlessly as a member of the Trancy estate, she nevertheless carried the same emotionless facade that the others did. Her lips did not crease with any hint of a smile.

"How lucky that the two of you would have the same outfit." Alois smiled blithely as though his words carried some kind of innocence to them. "The two of you should dance together since you match so well, Ciel."

"I don't dance with men."

Having expected that answer, the blonde-haired nobleman merely chuckled in response as he turned on his heel to leave. "Come, Luka." The two departed, making their way over to another end of the room to fraternize with the other guests.

As they trailed away, Remy looked back casually over her shoulder to observe the young earl. His friends appeared to take Alois's leave as their opportunity to socialize with him. The boy, despite seeming so aloof, appeared to have many friends.

Alois seemed to notice how preoccupied she was, and grabbed hold of her arm, steering her off to the side. "Don't worry, Luka," he cooed, "Claude will win." He smiled at her and reached out his hand to stroke the top of her head, though she stubbornly pushed him away.

"It wouldn't be appropriate."

Though he seemed disgruntled by her insistence, Alois silently complied and dropped his hand away. Then, suddenly, his face lit up once more. "Oh, yes, Luka! While I was out earlier..." He paused, digging his hand into his pocket. When he pulled it back out he produced a silver ring. "It doesn't match mine, but you always wanted something lavish like the jewels that adorned so many of those noblemen that made fun of us."

This time, Remy made no attempt to withdraw as Alois took her hand and slid the bulky silver band onto her index finger. It fit perfectly, much to her surprise, though she was mildly shocked to find herself wearing any jewelry. Before she could protest the matter, he had left her side to socialize with some of the nearby noblemen.

The minutes passed by quickly in this manner. Remy lingered behind and kept to herself, relieved that no one tried to engage her in conversation. Standing by herself, she eyed the ring on her finger apprehensively. Alois Trancy was not one known for his generosity and so she questioned the nature of this gift he'd so _kindly_ bestowed upon her.

"One minute left." Alois had returned, now wearing a bored look on his face as he gazed down at the golden watch he'd just withdrawn from his pocket. At that precise moment, as though his master's remark had summoned him, Claude appeared behind Alois. "Claude!" The happiness in Alois's face drained slightly as he noticed that Sebastian, too, had returned to Ciel. His brow quirked questioningly. "Why is Sebastian still alive? You botched this, Claude." Somehow amused by the situation, Alois giggled as he lifted the dark purple rose out of Claude's pocket and held it to his nose. "You botched it! I'll have to punish you. What shall I do?"

Those slanted golden eyes of Claude's narrowed. "You did not order me to kill Sebastian Michaelis." He paused and pulled the rose from his master's fingers, placing it back into the pocket of his jacket. "The arrangements have been made. Day into night, snow-white into crimson, and lies into truth. That's what makes a Trancy butler." The tall, statuesque man finished with flourish, running his gloved hand through the combed over bangs on his head.

Remy turned her gaze away, watching the people on the dance floor spinning about together. From behind her she could hear Claude whispering something to Alois, though she paid it no mind. At such an extravagant ball she felt so entirely out of place.

"Envious?" Alois whispered against her ear, his chest bumping against her arm as he brushed past her. He didn't bother to hear her answer, though he did glance casually over his shoulder and say, "Shame that I can't dance with you, Luka, but we're both boys, after all." He grinned mischievously and ambled out onto the dance floor.

It didn't take but a moment for Alois to find a partner in the young Lady Elizabeth, a young blonde-haired maiden that, according to the whispers of the noblemen, was Ciel's fiancee. Though Remy suspected that this display was solely to unnerve the Earl of Phantomhive, she caught sight of a smirk that Alois flashed her when their eyes met for the briefest of moments. He almost seemed to be challenging her.

Unfortunately for Alois, Remy couldn't have been more uninterested. At least with his preoccupation in dancing she could escape the bore of the party. Remy all too eagerly turned on her heel to leave. As she passed by Claude, he grabbed hold of her wrist and murmured, "The Phantomhive Earl is headed your way."

"You, Luka."

The way he called out her name was informal and perhaps even outright rude, though Remy paid it little heed. Claude had already released her, and so she turned toward the owner of the voice. "Yes?"

A vein almost seemed to be popping out of Ciel's forehead. "Dance with me." The boy had his arms crossed over his chest, and she could see he was reluctant to even make the request. It was obviously his attempt to get back at Alois.

Remy blinked at him with a look of utter indifference. "I don't dance."

His thin lips formed a frown line. "Why not?"

"I don't know how."

"Doesn't matter," he said hastily as he snatched her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor.

"This isn't appropriate."

"Doesn't matter," he insisted once more as he placed one hand on her lower back and with the other took her hand in his. Ciel took the lead in the dance and deftly directed every step she took like a puppet master controlling the strings of a puppet. Remy was mildly surprised that several of her missteps narrowly missed crushing his feet. He seemed experienced enough. Just what she would've expected from a nobleman.

Nevertheless, the thought that such an act would inevitably draw too much attention nagged at her. "We really shouldn't..."

"Be quiet," he snapped impatiently as the two twirled about the dance floor. The gay music playing in the background kept the beat light and cheerful, though all of the nobles seemed mildly shocked that two men were on the dance floor dancing together. Remy sighed inwardly at the stubbornness of her supposed dancing partner.

"Ciel, Ciel!" she heard a girl's voice calling through the crowd.

The sullen expression on the earl's face spoke greatly about his own shame at resorting to dancing with a boy for revenge. He hadn't smiled once since they'd stepped onto the dance floor. All of the endless spinning did little to lift Remy's mood either. It only worsened when they spun around again and she caught Alois eyeing her from a short distance away. He looked livid as he scowled at her.

Their dancing charade didn't last long; Alois abandoned Elizabeth in his ire and pushed through the crowd of dancing people. Outstretching a long, slender finger, he tapped Ciel on the shoulder. "If I may," he smiled maliciously despite the polite words that passed through his lips.

Seeming relieved that he could at last relinquish Remy, Ciel abruptly pulled his hands away from her, wiped them on his jacket, and trailed off toward his fiancee. He spoke not a word to Alois as the two brushed shoulders, though there was a short-lived glare between them.

Though she thought that this would end her embarrassment upon the dance floor, Remy was swept back up into the dance as Alois placed his hand on the low of her back and held tightly her other hand in his. Taller than Ciel, he seemed far more appropriate a partner for her. (Aside from the fact that both of them were boys - or at the very least, Remy looked like one.)

"This isn't appropriate," she told him, having repeated that same line all night between two stubborn earls.

He frowned. "So you can dance with Ciel but you won't dance with me?"

_I didn't want to dance with him, either,_ she thought silently, though she didn't speak the words. "We'll earn negative attention."

"Why didn't you refuse him?" he demanded, ignoring her logical observation.

The truth was that she had attempted to, but... "He was insistent."

Alois's hold on her hand tightened as he glared across the room at Phantomhive's Earl. "You're not allowed to dance with anyone but me, Luka. You belong to me." Possessively, he pulled her closer.

It was difficult to maneuver properly in the dance when she was pushed up against him. Though Alois seemed to move with relative ease, she could no longer see her feet or judge whether she was stepping correctly. She seemed to fumble several times, though Alois helped her to keep her balance. All of the spinning had turned the people around them into an indiscernible blur.

"Isn't this what we always dreamed of, Luka?" his voice broke through the chaotic monotony of the dance. Remy drew her gaze up to meet his. Those eyes, the color of a cloudless sky, seemed to be glassy. "Dancing amongst these pompous nobles, but this time as equals." He was smiling that far-off distant smile of his.

"I'm not feeling well," she lied, finally prying herself away from his grip.

Alois's eyes finally blinked back into life. "Don't feel like dancing anymore, Luka?" he asked in a sing-song voice.

Remy pushed through the dancing couples and hurriedly made her way to the hall where she spotted Hannah waiting. She glanced back quickly over her shoulder and noticed that Alois had moved on to another dancing partner, his jovial spirit apparently rejuvenated.

"Are you ready, my lady?"

The red-haired girl sighed at the polite term, which she had reminded Hannah so many times to drop. "Yes. It is time to set the plan into motion. Don't forget what we talked about before."

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for all the reviews for last chapter. I'd especially like to thank CrimsonXepher and Camp-crystal-lake. I've been trying my best to keep Alois as in character as possible, so it's uplifting to hear that I'm managing to do that. My beta reader has never watched either season of Kuroshitsuji so he hasn't been able to help much with that. (But I'm thankful for his help nonetheless.) I do love all of your reviews, guys, so really - thanks! They're very motivational. Will post again in two weeks!


	8. Realization

It seemed nothing short of a trap to Ciel Phantomhive and yet he found himself wandering through the halls of the Trancy manor with the most unlikely of guides. He could feel the trepidation in his legs as they suddenly stopped in front of a pair of mahogany doors. The tenseness of the air was palpable as he swallowed back the lump forming in his throat.

"This is it." The person's voice sounded feminine enough that if Ciel hadn't known better then he would've assumed the person to be a cross dresser.

"What's so important that you want to show me?"

Long slender fingers extended toward the brass knob, which clicked at the pressure of the boy's hand. He peered back at Ciel with a bored expression. "You followed me this far and you're only asking me that now?"

Although he'd been skeptical from the moment this Luka person had approached him while he was preparing to leave the manor in his carriage, Ciel had obediently followed the boy. The earl's curiosity had been piqued by the promise of vital information on Alois Trancy. Since he'd silently sworn to himself that he would kill Alois, Ciel couldn't bring himself to pass up any promising opportunities. Besides, he had Sebastian to protect him. No harm would come to him.

The door cracked open and yet all Ciel could see was utter darkness within. This didn't seem to dissuade Luka, who entered without any sense of hesitation. "This is his study," his voice called back to the earl.

Casting a questioning glance over at his butler, Ciel squeezed the cane in his hand before pressing forward through the darkness. "This had better not be a waste of my time."

"It won't be," the boy assured as suddenly a candle flickered to life at the end of the room, sitting upon the windowsill. The flame danced upon the wick, casting shadows about the room. It was temporarily blocked by the silhouetted form of Luka, who stepped in front of it. "My master won't be distracted for very long by bidding farewell to his guests. I suggest you quickly search through his paperwork and desk before he returns. You wanted this information, didn't you?"

Still skeptical about this Luka's intentions, Ciel nevertheless complied and motioned for Sebastian to check through the material. "Look through everything quickly. We need to be done in five minutes." While the butler attended to his newly assigned duty, Luka ambled around him and then brushed past Ciel. "Where are you going?"

The boy continued walking as he mumbled, "I'll watch the door."

While Sebastian shuffled through a sheaf of papers, Ciel glanced warily back at Luka. That the red-haired boy seemed so eager to help them was nothing short of suspicious. Moreover, Alois seemed particularly attached to the boy, evidenced by how quickly he'd abandoned Elizabeth in favor of this Luka person.

"So who are you?"

From the doorway the boy glanced back at him. "Does it matter who I am?"

"This should be all," the butler interrupted as he thumped one of the desk drawers shut. He stood up and gathered the stack of papers he'd thumbed through and finished arranging them.

Distracted by his butler, Ciel glanced back at Sebastian and gave a nod. "Good, then we can-" He stopped midsentence as he felt cold steel pressed against his throat. Just as he had suspected; glancing out of the corner of his eye he could see a few wisps of deep crimson red hair.

Likewise, Sebastian didn't seem the least bit surprised. Instead he seemed to have a look of mild amusement on his face. "It looks like you got caught again, young master."

"Sorry," the boy whispered apologetically against Ciel's ear, the warmth of his breath causing the earl to shudder. "It wasn't originally my intention to get someone else involved."

Regardless of apologies, Ciel had no intention of letting himself be used. He'd prepared himself for this turn of events. "Sebastian, remember our contract," he hissed between his teeth, disregarding the blade at his throat. The words were more than enough of a command; the butler leaped into action, dropping the papers onto the floor as he lunged toward the boy holding his young master hostage.

"Hannah!" Luka bellowed, dragging Ciel back toward the entrance to the room.

The silver-haired maid suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked the butler with only her bare hands. Though it seemed that she was at a disadvantage, she nevertheless managed to fend him off while Luka took Ciel out of the room. All of the ruckus from their encounter echoed throughout the house, and the earl suspected it wouldn't be long before they had company. He had to get away somehow...

"Don't even think about it." To put emphasis on the warning, the boy pressed the blade into Ciel's flesh. The slightest wrong movement could lead to a fatal wound and so the earl obediently walked along with Luka, albeit begrudgingly. First through the dimly lit hallway, and then the red-haired boy pulled Ciel down a narrow back staircase to an oak door. "Open it." Annoyed that he was being commanded to do anything, Ciel nevertheless obeyed. Outside it had already darkened with only the moonlight for illumination. Luka didn't seem to mind the darkness as she pushed Ciel along.

"This is pointless," he breathed out in a bored tone.

They stopped suddenly as the boy kicked Ciel in the back of the knee. The earl's legs immediately gave out as he crashed down onto his shins. Ciel winced from the pain, although it seemed to him that Luka had not done the action maliciously. There was less force from the kick than he would've anticipated.

The sound of shattering glass broke through the silence of the night air. Shards cascaded down from the second story of the manor and splintered on the ground as the two demonic figures, with their gleaming red eyes, landed on the ground. The silver-haired maid stood between Luka and Ciel with Sebastian standing across from her in a fighting stance. Hannah's clothes appeared to have been ripped and there were various cuts across her arms and abdomen. Meanwhile the handsome black-haired butler didn't seem to be sporting any visible wound.

"Just a little longer..." Luka whispered in a quiet voice.

Although Ciel was unsure as to what it was that the boy was waiting for, he wasn't about to wait long enough to find out. "Hurry up and finish this, Sebastian!"

Taking a swift kick to the stomach, Hannah was thrust out of the way and as his master commanded, Sebastian flew through the air toward the two. Inching closer and closer as only milliseconds passed by, in less than a moment he was a few feet away, his hand outstretched toward Luka's face. The red-haired boy wouldn't be able to avoid his grip.

Until suddenly a blur of black intervened and a glint of gold clashed against a glint of silver. The sound of clanging silverware reverberated in the darkness along with a distinct voice yelling, "Luka!"

With the blade still held against his neck, there was nothing Ciel could do but remain helplessly in the enemy's grasp. He could see that their situation had noticeably worsened and struggled to calculate a plan. All he could do was wait for a distraction - an opening - and use it to turn the blade against Luka in order to escape.

"As you wanted, your highness, Ciel Phantomhive."

The blonde-haired nobleman stared at the scene with a mild look of disbelief in his eyes. "I specifically commanded you not to interfere or get involved!"

"I had no choice, but with this, the contract will be complete."

Emerging from the rubble created by her body slamming into the side of the building, Hannah's single visible eye glowed through the darkness. Her gaze slowly turned toward Luka and Ciel. For reasons which the Phantomhive earl couldn't begin to fathom, Alois suddenly cried out a command to his butler, "Claude! This is a command. Don't let Hannah take Luka's soul!"

The battle which seemed to be at a standstill between Claude and Sebastian ended abruptly with that command. The Trancy butler abandoned his defensive position as he turned toward Luka and Ciel. In the moment that he lunged toward them, Ciel spotted his opening and broke free of the red-haired boy's grasp. Leaping through the air, out of the way just in time, he managed to avoid Claude.

A shrill scream rippled through the air. Ciel didn't chance a look back until he was securely hoisted into his butler's arms. A glimpse over his shoulder revealed that Claude had pried the knife from the boy's hand and plunged it through the eye patch the boy was wearing. Blood spurted forth as gurgled screams erupted from his throat.

"Hurry and get us out of here!" Ciel commanded.

—

The scene was mind numbing. All of the words seemed to be caught up in the back of his throat. His lips were frozen and unmoving. The whole world seemed to be moving in slow motion. Alois forgot the flickering candle in his hand that he'd carried for his own protection against the darkness, which surrounded him like a veil. It dropped from his hand and thumped against the ground.

Hesitantly, he treaded forward toward the crumpled figure on the ground. She was still screaming and it was deafening. For a moment he glanced up at his butler, who was now engaging Hannah just a short distance away.

Alois forgot his fear of the darkness as he collapsed onto his knees and reached his shaky hands toward her. There was blood everywhere, gushing out from beneath her eye patch. Lying on the ground just a few feet away was the knife, its blade covered in a coat of thick crimson liquid.

"Luka?"

Curled onto the ground, she pressed her hand over her eye. It was bleeding profusely and no matter how much pressure she attempted to apply to it, the blood seeped through the cracks of her fingers and rivulets trickled down the length of her forearm. Through her slightly parted, trembling lips he could hear the faint sound of whimpering. Her face was still contorted from the pain as she made rasping gasps for air.

The blonde-haired boy swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Luka?"

Her only visible eye, half-lidded now and glazed over from the pain, sluggishly rolled up toward him. It was unsettling, the way she looked at him. That expression on her face like a look of hatred. She blamed him - he knew it - she had to blame him for what happened.

"Claude!" His voice cracked as he called his butler's name.

Combat ceased the moment Claude heard his young master calling, and in the blink of an eye he was hovering over Alois. "Yes, your highness?" he spoke in that hollow tone of his, as though he didn't know what was coming.

The blonde-haired nobleman seethed with anger as he glared lividly up at his butler. "Why did you do that?" he demanded hoarsely. "I told you to stop Hannah! Why did you disobey me?"

"I did stop her. As conditions stand with the contract mark on Luka destroyed, Hannah cannot complete the contract. Just as you commanded... Your highness." Despite his somber tone, Claude's explanation almost seemed mocking.

Although the tremor in his legs from the fear and panic had yet to subside, Alois nevertheless stood fully on his feet and turned to face Claude. Grabbing the collar of his butler's shirt, he pulled the man's face down to his eye level. "You... I won't forgive you if you don't fix him!"

"Yes, your highness..." As he took a sweeping bow, Claude held his hand against his chest before calmly attending to his appointed duty. He knelt down on the ground beside Remy and reached toward her with his glove-covered hands. The moment she felt his fingertips brush against her skin, Remy jerked away.

Scrambling across the dirt, she kept one hand firmly pressed against her eye while feeling across the ground for her blade. "Murderer, murderer," she muttered frantically in a state of panic as she finally grasped the pommel of the knife and brandished it threateningly toward Claude. "Stay back!"

"Luka, what are you doing? We have to stop the bleeding!" Alois snapped at her desperately, beads of perspiration pouring down from his forehead. He had become vaguely aware of the darkness, though his fear of it was overridden by his fear of losing Luka.

"Don't touch me with those filthy hands," she hissed, her eye still narrowly focused on Claude's advancing hands. Remy tried several times to slice him with the knife, though he easily pulled his hands away from the danger of her clumsy attempts to strike him.

Though Alois couldn't fathom the sudden seething hatred in the tone of her voice, he felt too much desperation to contemplate it. "Hurry up, Claude! I gave you an order! Fix Luka!"

Unable to take a subtle approach any longer, Claude complied. The side of his hand connected with the side of Remy's neck before she could even blink, and the impact immediately rendered her unconscious. As she slumped forward, the dark-haired butler lifted her body into his arms.

Hannah, slightly bloodied and battered from the battle, approached Alois from behind after having retrieved and relit the candle he'd dropped. "Master," she whispered timidly, her chin tucked against her chest as she extended the candle in her hand toward him.

He snatched it from her hand and spat on her face. "I'll deal with you later. For now, help Claude. If something bad happens to Luka, you'll be sorry."

Obediently, Hannah nodded in compliance, not bothering to wipe the spittle off her face. She followed behind Claude who was walking at a brisk pace back into the mansion. With all of them gone, Alois lingered only momentarily, the flickering candlelight being the only reason he was able to stand the all-consuming darkness of the night.

His gaze wandered to the ground where a large puddle of Remy's blood had accumulated from her wound. The color of the blood reflected the light of the candle, in which he seemed to be able to vaguely make out his own reflection. It made him feel nauseous. Unable to stomach it any longer, Alois turned on his heel and headed back inside.

Left forgotten on the ground was the blade that been lost from Remy's grip after she'd fallen unconscious. Half-coated in coagulated blood were the words D. Claire, though this intricate detail seemed to have gone unnoticed... Or so it seemed.

"Hannah, are you familiar with the last name Claire?"

The silver-haired maid glanced momentarily at the solemn butler, who seemed to be in the process of bandaging Remy's face. Her lips twitched as a vague recognition seemed to flash across her eye, but with his back turned to her, Hannah was positive he wouldn't notice. "No, I'm afraid I'm not."

"Hm." He gave no indication as to whether or not he believed her. Instead the conversation took a more surprising turn. "You could have stepped in and stopped me from knocking her out."

"I didn't receive any commands," she mumbled back, taking the bloodied gauze that he handed her. Hannah disposed of it quickly before returning back to the side of the bed.

"Is that all?" It was unusual for him to ask so many questions, and yet Hannah was smart enough to know that even though his words were posed as inquiries, there was another motive behind them. He was probably planning something. She wouldn't allow herself to be deceived by his ill-intentioned "curiosity."

"Yes."

Before the conversation could continue any farther, the two heard the sound of approaching footsteps as Alois entered the room. Hannah didn't need to hear any words from his lips to known her presence was unwelcome. She dismissed herself quickly, brushing past the earl who made his way to Remy's bedside. The butler, who could already assume what his master was about to ask, spoke first. "The bleeding has stopped. I will fetch a doctor in the morning to properly assess the condition of her eye."

**Smack!**

The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed through the empty room. Claude seemed unfazed by the impact of his master's hand against cheek. Instead he looked at Alois grimly and bowed his head before taking his leave.

Taking the now unoccupied seat beside Remy's bed, Alois settled himself down on the uncomfortable, poorly cushioned oak chair that Claude had just abandoned. His eyes wandered over to Remy's motionless form. The candlelight beside her bed seemed to dance across her pale skin, giving it a ghostly glow. He reached his hand toward her tentatively. His cold fingers brushed against her bare arm, which was surprisingly warm despite having spent so much time outside in the frigid night air without the protection of a coat. Even though winter had passed, it was still chilly.

As he squeezed her hand he noticed how bony her fingers were. Her wrists noticeably slender, perhaps breakable - like a porcelain doll. Alois could make out her veins on the back of her hand, nearly protruding through the skin. She was unusually thin.

The more he looked at her, his scrutinizing gaze inspecting every detail of her now peaceful looking face, the more he came to a crushing conclusion. Alois closed his eyes and leaned his head against the mattress, partially huddled against the side of her body. The warmth of her hand was comforting, and yet it was disheartening to think... "You're not my Luka."

* * *

**Author's Note:** An early Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you all for the reviews. To Reira-chan, I don't want to spoil anything in the future, but there will be romantic development soon-ish. :) Perhaps not exactly romance by the term of the word, but the kind of unique romance that only a character like Alois could have. Big thanks to my beta-reader as always! Now that exams are over and I have a month break I can focus on writing. Updates may speed up as long as I can keep writer's block away.


	9. Suffocating

"Have you had any previous trauma to your eye?"

It felt strange to have this crotchety old coot prodding at her damaged eye. Remy felt uncomfortable about it. Had Alois not been so insistent she would've dismissed the idea without a second thought. Grudgingly, she answered his questions while ignoring his intrusive fingers and tools. "Yes, I have."

His eyebrows raised at her in curiosity. "What kind of trauma?"

"I don't remember," she lied.

The man's beady brown eyes peered down at her through the small, crescent moon-shaped spectacles sitting at the end of his nose. "It must have been pretty severe." Whether it was an educated observation or just an annoying remark didn't really matter to Remy. She ignored his comment and just hoped he would finish quickly.

Alois was sitting in a chair just a few feet away from the bed, fidgeting as he waited for the physician to finish his examination. The young earl hadn't really spoken much to Remy since she'd awoken that morning. At least not beyond commanding her to be cooperative. He seemed to have his gaze focused on the hands in his lap, largely despondent to the outside world. She could see that he had that distant, glassy look in his eyes again.

Remy had to strain just to be able to see anything with how the doctor had her pinned to the bed. He kept grunting at her every time she craned her neck. It was uncomfortable and she detested how his pudgy, grubby hands seemed to keep poking at her left eye. "Are you almost done?" Though Remy wasn't normally patient, she was unusually anxious to finish this unwanted appointment.

He frowned grimly and at last said, "Almost. Hold still while I bandage it."

"How is her eye?" Alois asked abruptly as he shot up out of his chair.

The man kept his attention to wrapping the bandages across Remy's face but he did manage a response. "Unquestionably, for all practical purposes, it's destroyed. Cosmetically it will never look normal and she'll probably always have to wear a patch over her eye." As he finished the doctor stood up, tossing the tools into the tote he'd carried in with him. His plump, wrinkled fingers grasped hold of the leather handles as he turned toward Alois. "I'm afraid this is all I can do, Earl Trancy."

Lifting her upper body, Remy glanced over at Alois with her uncovered blue eye. She was mildly surprised that he wasn't wearing his usual cheerful facade in the presence of a guest. That crestfallen expression on his face, which seemed entirely out of place, was all he seemed capable of mustering as he gave a vague inclination of a nod toward the burly doctor.

Once the chubby old man waddled out the doorway, Alois turned to Remy. He shuffled across the floor and took his seat where the doctor had previously been. His gaze seemed to wander to the floor as though his mind was elsewhere.

It made Remy feel uncomfortable. "Your highness," she drawled, trying to get his attention. When she successfully managed to draw his eyes up to her face, she continued, "I owe you an apology for allowing Ciel Phantomhive to escape."

For some strange reason he didn't laugh at her and dismiss the apology... Nor did he chide her for her foolhardy endeavor. Those eyes of his, as blue as the cloudless sky, just stared at her absentmindedly. His lips didn't even twitch. There seemed to be no indication on his face that he'd even heard her.

"Your high-"

"Luka."

Remy blinked at him. "Yes, your highness?"

"You're not Luka," he said. Remy might have thought he was joking if he didn't look so somber. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face or the usual lines of laughter.

Then, suddenly, she understood. "If this is because of my eye," she started to say, but was cut off abruptly as he shook his head no at her. "Then should I take this as you are ending my term of servitude here at the Trancy estate?"

Surprisingly he seemed alarmed at her question. "No!" The resounding declaration left her with a look of mild confusion on her face. Alois quickly regained his composure and explained, "You'll serve Trancy for the rest of your life. Just not as Luka..."

"Your highness-"

"Don't call me that," he hissed with a resentful look on his face.

Remy supposed his reactions were justified after the stunt she had pulled with Ciel Phantomhive. She obediently complied with his wish. "I apologize. From now on I will refer to you as Master instead." This didn't seem to sit well with Alois who seemed disgruntled by it. Nonetheless, Remy was unfazed by his reactions and merely pressed on with the matter of her servitude. "Should I assist Hannah with cleaning?"

The chair screeched in resistance as Alois suddenly stood to his feet. The look in his eyes was murderous as he scowled at Remy. From the corner of her eye she could see that he had balled his hands into fists. She fully expected him to slap her, but somehow the contact never came even though she had braced herself for it. Instead he just continued to look at her disdainfully until finally he spoke again. "Stay away from Hannah."

"I take it you also wish me to be a girl once again, since you referred to me as such with the doctor." It was a sudden and unnecessary change of subject. Remy didn't need to state what was already obvious. She simply didn't want to think about Hannah and what punishment Alois might have already handed out to her. Inwardly she admonished herself for the fear that restrained her from inquiring about Hannah's well-being.

"Yes, that's right."

Though his sudden decision seemed to make no sense, Remy did not question it. Just as the servant she was born to become, she accepted everything willingly and obediently. "Is there anything else I should be aware of, then, Master?"

The way she looked at him was disgusting. Unnerving. He couldn't stand it. Alois tore his gaze away and traipsed off toward the door. He only briefly paused to answer her question before leaving entirely. "Claude will oversee the rest of your duties from now on." Without so much as addressing her by her name or explaining his actions, Alois left her with only a few words for guidance.

It made Remy feel physically ill at the mere thought of having Claude as her supervisor. Still, the day was still young; breakfast had been served barely an hour ago. She had little time to spend pondering (or in this case dreading) much of anything. If there was work to be done around the mansion, and there surely was, Claude would have her work however many hours it took until the job was finished. She knew how much of a tyrant he was with the triplets and Hannah. She sighed as she resigned herself to the uncomfortable duty she'd been assigned. Perhaps it was easier than suffering Alois's antics. Though somehow she doubted that.

—

"The dining room, the lounge, and the study..." She recited the list of rooms she'd be assigned to clean as she dipped the end of the mop into the bucket. The water inside was barely murky. It was hardly dirty or dusty at all on the floor and yet Claude had insisted she clean it thoroughly.

The drudgery of cleaning took its toll on her quickly. Remy found herself hastily speeding through her cleaning duties as quickly as she could... Only to be scolded by an over observant Claude who seemed all too nitpicky about the minute details. He took no sympathy at the calluses forming on her hands or the exhaustion written across her face. Claude was as ruthless a dictator in the House of Trancy as Remy had predicted.

Initially she'd thought she had escaped punishment for her willful actions, but as she soon found out, cleaning was a crueler punishment than any physical abuse. Still, Remy was no stranger to hard work. The other servants were silently impressed that she had been able to keep up with the workload that Claude placed on her. Although she only managed to do it by the skin of her teeth.

"Dust those shelves again."

It was nearly midnight by the time she _thought_ she was finished. Unfortunately Claude didn't agree with her sentiment. He remained fully awake and just as condescending and critical as ever about the state of the house.

Although Remy wanted to argue the case about the bookshelves in the study - which she'd already dusted and re-dusted _five_ whole times, she swallowed back the words and did as she was told. Out of the corner of her eye she could almost swear seeing a vague trace of a smirk on Claude's face. It wouldn't have surprised her. The two had a mutual loathing for each other... Or perhaps it was one sided and Claude was just silently sadistic in his nature.

"Is this better?" she asked him in a monotone voice.

He inspected the shelves closely, his golden eyes narrowed as he ran his gloved finger over the surface of each shelf. "This appears adequate. Tomorrow I expect you'll put in more effort."

Remy bowed toward him reluctantly. "Yes, sir."

Claude glanced at her briefly before turning on his heel. "You may retire for the night," he said as he left.

Relieved at his words, she grabbed the bucket of cleaning supplies she'd carried in with her and exited the study. Though it was more of a library than a study, Claude treated it as his own personal office. It was smaller than Alois's study.

As Remy ambled down the hallway the supplies in her bucket clanked together. She tried to be as quiet as possible but it nearly sounded like a marching band as she made her way past Alois's study. Silently she noted to herself that Alois's room was only a short distance away. She knew she would pass it on her way to the staircase. It hadn't been but two days ago that she'd been in there with him.

Not that she was particularly reminiscing about it... Granted she might have been inclined to take up impersonating Luka again instead of the cleaning work Claude assigned her if she was granted the opportunity of a choice. It didn't really matter. Cleaning was something she was at least modestly talented at. That only came from years of backbreaking work around her own house.

As she mused to herself she hardly noticed that she was already passing by the double doors of Alois's room. At least not until she heard the distinct sound of his voice, calling out a name. "Luka... Luka..." Instinctively, she stopped and listened in. "Luka, don't leave me..." He was probably having a nightmare.

It wasn't any of her business anyways. She had no time to waste worrying over the earl who had a perfectly capable butler to cater to his every whim. If she was going to be able to work again the next day, she would need adequate rest.

Seeming almost cold and uncaring, Remy continued on down the hallway. She quickly put away the supplies she'd been using before hurrying to her room. Hastily she peeled off the suit Claude had insisted she wear. It was a spare that one of the triplets had lent her - Cantebury was his name, if she remembered correctly. The suit was oversized but fit better than any of Hannah's clothing would have. Claude had informed her that he would have her measured and would order a proper maid outfit. Although she'd wanted to protest against it, Remy knew her place.

"So tiresome," she groaned as she climbed onto her bed. Too exhausted to even bother crawling under the blanket, she collapsed against her pillow. There wasn't even time to think before her eyes shut and her mind went blank. Sleep came quicker than Remy could have even hoped, despite her bruised hands and aching muscles.

The night provided her with dreamless sleep that left her feeling surprisingly refreshed, even though Claude woke her in the early hours of the morning. Not even a stream of sunlight could be seen outside. Remy groaned inwardly as she groggily lifted herself out of the bed. Every muscle in her body felt like an anvil weighing her down, screaming in resistance to every movement she made. Her hands were sore and blisters were already forming.

The narrow-eyed butler, who seemed to be impatiently waiting for her to dress herself, didn't pay the pained look on her face any mind. "Today you'll be cleaning..." He proceeded to rattle off about the list of chores she had for the day. The workload seemed to be even heavier than the day before. Not that Remy had any opportunity to complain; as soon as Claude finished giving her the orders he took his leave.

She hastily dumped her feet onto the floor and shuffled over to her closet. Sluggishly, Remy unbutton her nightclothes and allowed them to drop to the floor while she donned the working clothes she'd worn the day before. Every movement was achingly painful, but loitering around would mean getting an earful from Claude later.

Like a dedicated professional, Remy focused on her work while disregarding her exhaustion. In the process of cleaning the guest bedrooms she had spotted Cantebury moving about the halls with cleaning supplies of his own. She'd even seen a brief glimpse of Claude, though she would rather not have. Yet she never saw any sign of Hannah. It seemed Alois had been more than serious about keeping the two of them separated.

Remy didn't particularly mind, though guilt chipped away at her nonchalant mindset. She was admittedly concerned about Hannah's well-being, if only because Remy would blame herself if something bad had happened to Hannah.

She sighed. Too much time for thinking meant she wasn't working hard enough. So she picked up the pace, dusting the many figurines and trinkets that lined the top of one of the dressers of a guest room.

Another day passed in this manner. Claude would scold her for missing the finer details and Remy would obediently redo the job until he was pleased. She never did see or hear anything about Hannah. Alois also seemed to be keeping his distance from her. Life as a servant proved to be little more than monotonous and boring. Gone were the frequent and yet purposeless trips to London that she'd been dragged into. She no longer sat across from Alois to eat her meals. Instead she found herself sitting amongst the triplets, who all seemed to whisper amongst themselves, in the kitchen eating leftovers. Not that she had any complaints about the leftovers. It was more the weird looks she received from the three purple-haired goons.

"You're dismissed for today."

Those words were her salvation at the end of each day. Gratefully, she bowed in front of Claude before turning to take her leave. She silently lamented on the irony of feeling glad to hear him say anything when she so detested his very presence.

As she trudged down the hallway her legs felt unusually heavy. Perhaps it was the strain on her muscles. Remy glanced down at the palm of her hands, covered in bruises and open sores. A new one had just formed and blood was already oozing from it. The crimson color stood in stark contrast to the paleness of her flesh. The stinging pain was a bit annoying but not even comparable to how it had felt when Claude drove the knife through her eye. Just the mere thought had her instinctively pressing her fingers over her bandaged eye.

"Luka...!"

Slightly startled by the voice, she froze in place. It took a moment for Remy to realize that she was passing in front of Alois's door again. From behind it she could hear him calling out in his sleep, just as he had a few nights before.

Against her better judgment, Remy set the tin bucket down against the carpet and gently grasped the doorknob. The door opened quietly and inside the room, which was lit by several flickering candles, she could see a bundle buried beneath the layer of blankets on the bed. Cautiously, she glanced down either side of the hallway before entering the room and closing the door behind her. The sound of her faint footsteps didn't even seem to register to the still-sleeping Alois.

He writhed on his bed as though suffering from something terrible. His face strained as he tossed back and forth. Sweat was pouring down the length of Alois's forehead and his breathing was audibly labored. Remy could see he was clenching a fistful of his blanket with either hand as he struggled through his nightmare.

"Luka... Luka...!" His voice sounded so desperate and pleading.

For a few moments she silently watched him. Then she lifted a hand and outstretched it toward him. Her fingers curled around his smooth, thin neck. Their flesh contrasted; her skin far more pale than his. Remy began tightening her grip and soon his hard breathing turned into sputtering gasps for breathe.

His eyes flew open in a moment and his hands shot up toward her. Roughly, he grabbed hold of her arm. Her grip on his neck held steadfast as he made no attempt to break it, though he gripped her arm tightly. Alois smiled at her maniacally, his eyes resembling those of a wild animal. "Luka," he hissed gutturally.

The hardened expression on her face didn't change. "That's not my name anymore."

"Remy," he corrected with a toothy grin, as though she wasn't still trying to choke him. "Do you want to kill me?" There wasn't any hint of panic on his face. If anything, he appeared to be excited by the prospect of Remy attempting to take his life. In her eyes that wasn't the case. It was more of an issued challenge, one that Remy surprisingly backed down from.

Her grip loosened until at last she released her hold on his neck. "No," she responded solemnly.

"No guts, huh?" Alois smiled at her innocently as he tightened his hold on her arm. It was enough to make a normal person cry out and yet Remy only winced at the pain. "Are you really going to pass on such a perfect opportunity?"

Unfazed by his taunting, she yanked her arm out of his grip and turned her back toward him. "Good night, Master," she said briskly before traipsing out of the room.

Once she was gone Alois rubbed his neck. Although she had squeezed hard enough to constrict his airway, he hadn't sensed any murderous intent from her. Perhaps that was the most baffling thing about her actions. But then he felt something warm and yet wet on his neck. Glancing at his fingers he noticed a bit of blood. He ran his tongue over it as if savoring the coppery taste.

_Must be her blood,_ he thought silently. Had it come from her hands? His eyes narrowed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Probably not the most exciting chapter but a necessary evil. Next chapter starts moving the gears toward romance, even if very slowly. ;) Thanks SO MUCH to the reviewers! **MeiMichi-chan** - Eventually~ as more character development occurs. Or maybe she's just a masochist... **reira-chan** - Claude stabbed her brown eye. Unfortunately it's been unusually busy for me even though I've been on break but I am trying to update a little faster. Still have two and a half weeks 'til school starts up again. **Sai-chan/Camp-crystal-lake/NowakiStar** - Thank you guys so much, again. Really appreciate the wonderful feedback.

Special thanks to my beta reader.


	10. Drowning in These Feelings

How long was he going to stare at her like that? It was unnerving. Remy couldn't even properly focus on her work when she had Alois leering at her the entire time. She'd spent the past fifteen minutes mopping the majority of the dining room only to have him perched on one of the chairs, watching her with the eyes of an eagle. The entire time he hadn't spoken a word to her. He merely continued to sit there all the while wearing a grim expression and looking more downcast than a kicked puppy.

At first Remy suspected it had to do with the previous night. Perhaps he intended to punish her for her actions toward him in his room. She had no quibble about that, rather she had expected as much. But as the seconds trickled away into minutes that eventually turned into half an hour, the young earl kept silent about whatever thoughts were churning in that head of his.

It didn't concern Remy much anyways. She didn't have the time to loiter and ponder over the affairs of noblemen. The toll cleaning had taken on her body had slowed her progress and she knew she would be up past midnight if she didn't pick up her pace. Of course, right as she was about to exit the room to continue on to her next duty, Alois finally spoke to her.

"Your eye," he mumbled in a distinctly quiet voice, "How is it?"

Remy paused for a moment. Had he been mulling over the condition of her eye the entire time? Or was that just an offhanded question said not out of concern but perhaps guilt and feelings of obligation? Either way it didn't really matter. "It's fine," she said.

Those words seemed to be enough to knock Alois out of whatever depression-induced state he'd been in. He beamed at her from his seat. "Take the day off," he commanded in his usual arrogant and condescending voice. "We're going to go to the lake."

She stared at him blankly. "Sorry, Master, but I don't think Claude-"

"Claude will do what I tell him to. If I say you have today off, then you have today off." Alois was, typically, stubborn and insistent. He looked a bit indignant at her attempt at refusal, glaring at her with his arms crossed securely over his chest. In every way he resembled a pouting child.

Remy acquiesced despite her exasperation and set the cleaning supplies down. Alois gleefully skipped across the freshly cleaned floor, leaving his dirty footprints behind. Although inwardly she groaned at seeing the floor she'd scrubbed at for so long sullied by his shoes, she kept her complaints to herself.

Alois grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her along behind him. "Come on," he chimed gleefully.

The two stumbled down the hallway noisily. Remy could barely keep up in the heeled shoes she'd been forced to wear, which were so awkward to walk in. Still, it felt a bit refreshing to think she would be able to escape her duties and leave the house. Even if that meant suffering Alois's unusual antics once again.

His earlier display of what she could only assume to be guilt still puzzled her. Remy wasn't one to ponder over things for long. It probably had something to do with her lack of curiosity. Since she couldn't figure out why it was he seemed to care about her, she merely chalked it up to his lingering feelings toward her after seeing her as Luka. Not that it particularly mattered, but perhaps he still saw her that way. Just the night before he'd called her Luka again after all. Even if he had paused to correct himself at her behest.

"Remy."

Remy's head jerked from the shock of hearing her name as she broke away from her thoughts. "Mm?" she responded dully.

Alois had stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway. He was up in her face, his eyes just inches apart from her own. "Your eye is hideous," he whispered to her, smiling devilishly. "Claude should have stabbed out this one instead." His fingers brushed against her cheek and trailed up to her eye. Remy stared back into his eyes as she waited... Waited for the inevitable; she'd watched him gouge out Hannah's eye without remorse before. If he wanted to, she knew he was capable of doing the same to hers. The anticipation made her nauseous. She silently wanted him to hurry and get it over with - to just stab her eye out if that's what he wanted to do.

But he didn't do it. Instead Alois surprised her when his nose gently bumped against hers and a moment later their lips brushed against each other. She was too stunned from the shock to react while Alois hastily pulled away, cackling at her expression. "Look at that! Were you happy that I kissed you, Remy? How disgusting."

His words sobered her up quickly. "Master, you shouldn't partake in that kind of behavior." She wiped her lips quickly on her sleeve before brushing past him. "If you want to visit the lake, then please make haste so we may return in time for me to see to my duties."

—

"Claude, you should go jump into the water."

The stoic butler blinked slowly at his master. He kept his lips pursed, though the look in his eyes spelled out his incredulity at the suggestion. It was their usual antics. Alois would make an odd request that Claude would inevitably ignore. Remy still didn't understand why they had all been gathered out by the lake to lounge around. Although it was spring, the weather was still considerably chilly.

Sitting at the edge of the still water, Remy watched it with a disinterested gaze. No one seemed to have questioned Alois as to what the purpose was for this pointless trip to the lakeside. Everyone seemed to content to follow along. The triplets were standing nearby, whispering amongst themselves as they always did.

_Still no Hannah,_ Remy thought silently to herself, casting a brief glance at the people gathered. Alois was still trying to command Claude to hop into the chilly waters. The silver-haired maid was nowhere to be seen and Remy was beginning to wonder whether Alois had gotten rid of her altogether somehow.

"...emy..."

It wasn't possible that their contract had really-

"Remy!" The sound of his voice broke through her thoughts. Remy slowly gazed up at the boy towering over her. He regarded her with that condescending gaze of his, a deranged smile upon his pale lips. "It can't be that you ignored me, did you, Remy?" His hand reached for her chin. The way his fingernails dug into her skin made her lips twitch from the pain.

"I apologize," she said mechanically.

Alois smiled back at her as innocently as a child. "Jump into the lake." His voice betrayed the look on his face as he spouted the cold, cruel command. Perhaps he expected her to refuse, but in the silence between them he continued smiling as he waited for some kind of response.

Unsure of whether this was supposed to be a test of loyalty or something he was asking her to do purely for the pleasure of seeing her suffer, Remy obliged. She stood up slowly and dusted off the grass from her rear. "As you command," she murmured. As she trailed down to the edge of the lake, she could feel his gaze on her. It was heavy as he waited expectantly. The red-haired girl swallowed back any reservations she had about entering the ice cold water and hesitantly leaped forward.

For the moment that she hovered in the air she experienced a feeling of utter bliss. A sudden gust of wind rippled the surface of the lake and blew through her hair. She closed her eyes and savored the weightlessness of loitering there for that millisecond in midair. Then she braced herself as she plunged feet first into the freezing waters. It felt like a thousand daggers which stabbed sharply into her warm skin. A numbness overcame her and it was difficult to even move at all as she was submerged beneath the cold surface. Remy found herself gasping for air, though there was none.

Where was the bottom? It hadn't looked that deep from above. Had she misjudged it? Remy couldn't even tell if she was sinking. If she didn't hurry back to the surface, water would beginning filling her lungs and she would drown. No one was going to come after her. Was this a death sentence Alois had knowingly given her?

At first she debated whether or not to struggle against it. Her entire body felt frozen over from the cold water and she could barely move. Still there were things that she felt she needed to accomplish. So Remy began flailing her arms suddenly and kicking her feet with all the strength her body could possibly muster. It was difficult, and she found herself choking on the tasteless liquid that poured into her mouth. Only moments later she finally managed to reach the surface, gagging on the water as she frantically paddled herself toward land. Alois trilled with laughter from above that drifted through the air like a mocking melody, but at the very least it served as a guide. The water on her eyelid felt heavy as she tried to blink it away, though it still proved difficult to see.

Finally her trembling fingers grabbed a fistful of grass as she struggled to pull herself back up on the land. Her feet still hadn't managed to reach the bottom. Apparently it was a sudden drop off from the land, and while not entirely unexpected, it had taken her by surprise. The air relentlessly embraced her, chilling her to the bone. It was even colder on the surface than it was when she was sinking toward the bottom of the lake.

"How disappointing. It would've been better if you hadn't come back up." He knelt down in front of her and peered through the curtain of wet crimson tresses that blocked out her eye. Alois flashed her that same fake smile that he had before, even crinkling his eyes shut as he did so.

Remy stared back at him. "Would that have made you happy?" she asked through shuddering breaths. Her body was still shaking from the cold.

Slowly his eyelids lifted and he glared at her with those hollow eyes of his. "If I said yes, would you jump back in there and stay?"

"No," she responded honestly.

Before Remy could catch his reaction to her answer, Alois suddenly stood and a moment later she felt her head forcefully jerked up. He had snatched a lock of her dripping wet hair and forced her to sit partially upright. "Hey, Claude," he called out in that cheerful voice of his.

The butler obediently glanced over at his master, his lidded golden eyes peering through those squarely-shaped spectacles. "Yes?" he responded monotonously, no tinge of exhaustion evident in his voice. It appeared that he was incapable of being irritated by his master's pointless and sometimes cruel behavior.

"She'll be sick now, won't she?"

He blinked slowly and glanced down at Remy's pained face. Claude seemed to take a moment, though Remy had no way of knowing what was going through his mind. He seemed to be contemplating something. Finally he said, "Yes."

This seemed to make Alois even happier as he glanced down at Remy's face. He giggled at her expression. "Did you hear that, Remy? Since you're going to be sick, you won't be able to work for Claude for awhile. It's okay, though. I'll make sure to take good care of you while you're not feeling well."

Was this supposed to be revenge for what she'd done the other night? Remy winced. "Yes, master."

Satisfied, he finally released her. "I'm bored here. Let's go back."

That, at the very least, was a relief. Remy was eager to return to the manor and change her clothing. Her entire body was shivering during the walk back, and her teeth were involuntarily chattering. Alois seemed to be amused at this and took the opportunity to make several jabs at her.

The moment they returned Alois commanded the triplets to see to it that a bath was filled with warm water. He then personally guided Remy to the bathroom, much to her chagrin. Silently she hoped he would leave afterward, but he didn't seem to mind following her inside.

"Master, I need to get undressed."

Indifferent, he flashed a grin at her. "Go ahead!"

It was painfully obvious that he had no intention of leaving. Nor did he seem to have any sense of right and wrong. Perhaps it was because she was too far past caring that Remy didn't try to argue the point any more. She resigned herself with a sigh and slowly started to peel off the soaked clothing after turning her back toward Alois. It was difficult to unbutton the vest with her fingers shaking uncontrollably; she kept fumbling every time she tried, though she wasn't about to ask Alois for help. She didn't need to.

Alois stepped in front of her. His fingers were unsurprisingly more nimble than her own. It took only a matter of seconds before he had completely unbuttoned the vest for her. He pulled it off and it fell to the ground with a loud smack while Alois's attention turned toward her shirt. She watched him from above with an emotionless eye. The person she saw in front of her, so intently focused on the task at hand that his eyes didn't even for a moment grant her a glance, seemed so foreign. It certainly didn't look like the Earl of Trancy.

As her shirt fell off, Remy shivered from the cool air that sudden hit her exposed skin. Alois seemed to be amused by it; a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. "What's wrong, Remy?" he whispered as he gazed back at her. An unrecognizable emotion seemed to flicker across those capri-blue eyes of his.

"I'm cold," she stated obviously.

Something seemed to catch his eye as he reached for her hand. "I see you're still wearing the ring I gave you," he remarked cheerfully. As his fingertips grazed against her feverish skin, Remy flinched. "What was that, Remy? Don't want me to touch you?"

Before she could respond there was a sudden knock at the door. "I have the water for the bath." It was Claude.

Fortunately it was enough to draw Alois's attention away from her. As he turned to face the door and said, "Hurry up," Remy turned her back toward it.

The black-haired butler quietly cracked open the door before entering with several buckets. He wordlessly glided across the floor to the bathtub which he quickly dumped the buckets into. Steam immediately rose up from the boiled liquid and seemed to drift through the air, caressing Remy's exposed skin, as if to tease her chilled body.

Remy watched Claude's back as he stood upright and stacked the buckets beside the bathtub before turning toward her and Alois. The steam seemed to have clouded over his glasses. He paused to clean them off with a handkerchief in his pocket. However as he cleaned them his eyes seemed to focus on her face. She wasn't the only one to notice. Alois traipsed across the tiled floor over to his butler, who had just replaced the spectacles back onto the bridge of his nose. "Claude," he drawled.

"Yes?" the butler responded attentively, looking back at his master with that bored, unfocused gaze of his.

Alois curled his finger at Claude, beckoning the butler to lean toward him. Of course Claude obediently did so. There was a resounding smack that seemed to echo in the empty bathroom as Alois's hand seemed to bounce off of his cheek. It was a sharp, reprimanding slap.

"Don't look at Remy."

"Yes, your highness," he responded automatically before standing up straight and brushing past his young master. Claude quickly took his leave without another word, closing the door quietly as he excused himself.

Once the butler was gone, Alois turned to Remy with that broad smile of his. "The water's ready. You better hurry up before it gets cold." The way he spoke in that sugary sweet voice made her cringe.

Nonetheless, Remy was more than happy to oblige. She quickly pulled off her leggings and the rest of her undergarments before shuffling across the floor and over to the large ceramic bowl. Climbing over the edge, she slowly poked at the water with her foot. It was unbelievably scorching hot, but she bit back any cries of pain as she deposited herself slowly into the still steaming liquid. It washed over her just as the water in the lake did; it engulfed every part of her body and numbed the surface of her skin. Painful or not, it was undeniably blissful. Remy exhaled sharply as she closed her eyes.

While she enjoyed the caress of the warm water that brought heat back to her frozen skin, Alois took a seat beside the tub. He was surprisingly silent. Usually he filled the silence with teasing jabs, pointless remarks or mocking questions. It seemed unusual for him to hold his tongue. Remy was relieved at the air between them, unburdened by words. Even though she knew it wouldn't last long.

"Remy." Of course, just by thinking that, she had jinxed herself. He was already calling her name. "You really don't want to kill me?"

How redundant for him to ask again. "No." It was the same answer she had given him before.

It fell quiet for only a moment, but Remy quickly figured out why. She could feel his breath on her face. The moment she opened her eyes she saw him hovering just a few inches above her. "Do you hate me?" He was smiling.

She stared back. "Yes."

Those eyes of his seemed to widen as the upturn of his lips grew into a maniacal grin.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow! Thanks for all the awesome reviews guys. :D Really helped motivate me to write some more. Some of you might be thinking, "So... Where was the romantic development?" Okay, most of us don't want our first kiss to involve hearing, "You're disgusting." But we are dealing with a character inept at showing his emotions properly so progression might be slower than a snail. There is progression though since Alois finally sees Remy as Remy instead of as a replacement. I won't ramble and bore you. Next chapter I will post next Wednesday morning. It's SUPER long. Things are explained, character development occurs and oh my... Something that almost resembles _fluff?_

**The following is just me rambling about Remy.** Although the story might be give the appearance that Remy is having it "rough," so to speak, I don't think she looks at her life as being tough. She's more one of those people who feels like a bystander in her own life and lets things go as they go and does little to interfere or change it. As any human she has her strengths, she has her faults. If people can say they like her then that makes me happy. There are things about her I find annoying (like her lack of curiosity, since I'm such a curious person myself) but I think next chapter helps you get into her head more and understand where she's coming from and what kind of a person she really is.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I would love to hear from you guys about what you thought about this chapters. Thank you for reading.


	11. The Webs We Weave

"Cold?"

The way he asked her so sweetly was misleading. There was nothing caring about the smirk on his face, or the underlying mocking tone in his voice. Remy stared back at him apprehensively with half-lidded eyes. She could find no sincerity in those blue eyes of his. So she lied, "No, I'm fine." Her shivering body visually contradicted her words.

"Are you lying?" he was prodding her with questions again, pretending to be oblivious to the truth.

Inwardly, Remy debated whether answering truthfully or deceitfully would make it easier on her. All she wanted was to be left alone, yet even when she was feverish and half-asleep, Alois seemed content to pester her with pointless questions and his usual jabbing remarks. "No," she lied again. Maybe he would grow bored. She hoped he would, even though she knew better.

"I'll help you warm up," he declared cheerfully. Just as Remy had suspected, he didn't really pay attention to what she said and did whatever he wanted to on a whim.

Alois slipped in beneath the blanket while Remy scooted to the other edge of the bed to try to make room for him while simultaneously trying to distance herself. Of course this was to no avail; he curled up beside her and wrapped his arms around her. To any observer the two seemed to be cuddling, though Remy still silently hoped he would leave.

"You'll get sick," she said while staring up at the ceiling.

His head slid closer, with his lips mere inches from the side of her cheek. As he spoke she could feel his breath against her skin, warm and moist. "No, I won't." His stubborn refusal to listen exasperated her.

Remy closed her eyes. It was nonsensical to argue the point with someone who wouldn't listen. "I'm going to sleep."

"Then sleep." He playfully nuzzled the side of her face, loose strands of his sunny blonde hair tickling the edge of her nose. Remy flinched at the affectionate gesture, still under the impression he was mocking her. This behavior of his was even more unusual than when the two had huddled together beneath blankets while she'd been playing as Luka. "Are you worried I won't be here when you wake up, Remy?" The question was ludicrous and he surely knew it. Was he mocking her again?

Remy closed her eyes. Her throat ached enough just swallowing. Speaking was even more painful. Whether he wanted to ask pointless questions or not was entirely up to him, but she didn't see fit to humoring him by answering them anymore. She was too tired. Exhaustion weighed heavily upon her eyelids. Even if she had tried to open them, they probably wouldn't have complied.

Seeming to have noticed this, Alois didn't pry any further. As sadistic as he seemed to be, he also seemed to have enough sense to not interrupt her sleep when she was sick. Or perhaps he was silently scrutinizing her sleeping face. Yes, that seemed far more likely. Frankly, Remy was beyond caring anymore. Her racing thoughts eventually slowed and in the peace and quiet of the room, Remy eventually fell asleep. From beside her, Alois watched silently and eventually closed his eyes as well. By late morning the two had drifted off together with Remy entangled unwillingly in Alois's arms.

—

The siding was crumbling, the roof was cracked. Buckets littered the floor as water filled them quickly from the leaking ceiling. Even the wooden floor seemed to be rotting. It was dilapidated and almost uninhabitable, but it was home. Why was she here again? Hadn't she left a long time ago? For some reason, Remy couldn't remember. Her mind was blank.

"Big brother!" That was her voice. She was sure that was her voice.

He looked at her with those hollow, unfocused eyes of his. "What?" The way he spoke, so uncaring, gave her chills. Remy didn't even want to look at him. That face of his that was so weathered by tough experiences and time. He seemed to glare at her for even calling out to him. "Were you out messing around again?"

Though she smiled up at him and innocently said, "No, of course not," in the most childlike way possible, he seemed skeptical.

"What are you doing playing with those neighborhood kids again? Didn't mom tell you to work?"

That's right. She was supposed to be out working in the field. That was the daily routine that kept food on the table. It was how they had come to live in this house, however unpleasant, unclean and uncomfortable it may have been. Why had she gone off to play with children instead of working like she was supposed to? She couldn't remember... "It was only for a little bit," she whined.

He turned his back to her. That cold, unforgiving and muscular back of his. In different circumstances maybe it would've been one that carried her... But she had never rode on her brother's back. Remy had seen other girls ride on their brother's back but she never had. If she asked why he would tell her there was no point in it; she had strong enough legs to carry herself. Though Remy had always wondered if it was perhaps because her brother's back wasn't strong enough to bear any more weight.

"Where is mom?" she asked curiously.

Those blank brown eyes of his peered back at her. "What?"

Her double blue eyes blinked back at him. "What?"

Blood trickled down from his eyes, like tears pouring down his cheeks. "What are you doing, Remy?"

Petrified by the sight, she fell back on her bottom. "B-big brother?" she squeaked.

Suddenly he was walking toward her, stiff legged like a zombie. Like the undead risen from a grave to haunt her. "What are you doing?" His voice didn't sound emotionless like it did before but unforgiving and accusatory. "Don't you want revenge for father? Aren't you angry that he was taken away from you like that?"

Her jaw trembled. "N-no!

Those bony fingers of his suddenly grabbed her throat. Remy fell backwards as he towered over her. His large body hovered over hers like death incarnate. He was coming for her, coming for her because she had lied, broken her promise. Tears poured down her cheeks as he choked her. She couldn't breathe. "It's your fault. If you had been a boy, I wouldn't have had to suffer. That nasty old man would've taken you instead of me."

Remy clawed at his face. The skin peeled away easily and blood poured down her fingers and splattered across her left eye. It was blinding her but she couldn't stop. Even if she had to kill to survive, she would. She had to, she wanted to live.

But he stopped. Suddenly his body began turning to dust, dispersing into the air as though he'd never been there to begin with. He left her with his final, haunting words, "I gave you that eye you're so ashamed of. You can't forget me. I won't let you forget."

—

Her head jerked as she blinked away that horrible nightmare. Perspiration poured down her forehead and cheeks as she gasped for air, as though she had been submerged in water again. It was the same feeling, as though she was drowning. With great relief she calmed down upon seeing Alois's face. It reassured her that the haunting images that had been reeling in her mind just moments ago were nothing more than a dream.

As if she still didn't believe it, she reached her trembling fingers up and gently pressed them against Alois's face. His skin was warm against her fingers, and his lips seemed to twitch into a small smile from her touch. She traced her finger down from his cheek to his lips. They were soft and moist... Just as they had felt when he had kissed her. It was a strange sensation that, initially, had caught her off guard. She wasn't sure how to react but it wasn't unpleasant.

Beneath his eyelids, his eyes seemed to be moving. He was immersed in dreams of his own, perhaps nightmares about that "Luka" person again. At least while he was sleeping he looked as innocent as he pretend to be. Like a porcelain doll the way his eyelashes cast a shadow upon his cheeks. The way each feature of his seemed to be chiseled and well-defined. Remy reached her hand up and gently stroked his hair. The sun-touched golden strands felt like silk slipping through her fingers. Even girls would be envious of his beauty. He was perfect.

At least until he opened his mouth. Then it became painfully obvious from his snide remarks how demented and sadistic he was. Although she didn't indulge herself in curiosity, Remy still found herself wondering about him. Why did he always smile even though he didn't mean it? What kind of nightmares was he having? She could never figure out what he was thinking.

Consumed in her thoughts, she was late to notice him staring back at her. Her breath became caught up in the back of her throat from surprise as she yanked her hand away from his head. Alois grabbed her wrist, however, and placed her hand back on his head.

"Feeling shy now that you got caught?" He was smiling again.

"That smile makes me uncomfortable."

Alois seemed to ignore her statement. "Did you have fun watching me sleep, Remy?" He was leaning in close again.

The way he seemed to have no sense of personal space unsettled her. Although he put his face up in hers constantly, she still hadn't grown accustomed to it. "You don't smile like that when you're sleeping."

"How disgusting," he murmured, "You pay such close attention to what kind of expressions I'm making when I sleep."

A sigh pushed between her lips. Of course he would take the opportunity to make another jab at her. "I was glad." She closed her eye for a moment before blinking away the image of her brother's bloody face, still fresh in her mind. More shocking than the image of her brother was the look on Alois's face. He seemed to be appalled by what she'd said.

Suddenly he sat upright, yanking his arms away from her as though he was repulsed to be touching her. The expression on his face was unfamiliar to her as he looked at her quizzically. "What did you just say?"

"I was gl-"

Before she could try to repeat what she had said his hands suddenly flew to her throat. It was reminiscent of the first time they had met when he had realized that she wasn't a boy. "I don't want to hear that from you." Even though his fingers dug into her throat, it wasn't as malicious as it had been back then. There was no intent to kill, although she choked from the pressure. "You said you hate me. Were you lying?" He squeezed harder.

She stared back at him blankly.

"Why aren't you trying to stop me? Do you want me to kill you?"

The feeling of all the oxygen leaving her lungs, of not being able to breathe was almost exhilarating. Remy could barely think and things were starting to become blurry. She shakily rose her hand, her fingertips grazing against the side of his cheek until finally she could tightly grasp a clump of his hair. Using what little strength she could, she pulled him down toward her.

He was smiling at her again. It was sickeningly sweet. "What? Want to kill me now?"

The grip on her throat loosened enough that she could manage a gasping breath in which she said, "I don't care."

Those words were vexing to him. After he had tried so hard to make her hate him, to hear that she simply didn't care was infuriating. Alois couldn't stand that weak willed statement. It was disgusting. He didn't like a Remy that didn't have a strong resentment toward him... A Remy that didn't fight against him to be alive. No, a Remy like this was just... "You make me so sick," he hissed at her in a sugary voice as he finally released her before slipping off the bed.

She watched his receding back, which didn't seem to resemble her brother's at all. Alois stood proud and upright as he strode away, without casting so much as a glance back at her. For the differences between them, she was glad.

At the very least the awkward situation between them had ended and Alois had left her alone. With him gone she could get proper rest without being pestered... Or so she had hoped. Falling back asleep proved difficult. The body heat he had provided through his close proximity had helped and she sorely missed it; she found herself shivering uncontrollably again from the cold. Though Remy wasn't sure whether it was the cold or her racing thoughts that kept her awake.

Despite tossing and turning for what seemed like forever, she finally fell asleep. In the following hours she passed in and out of consciousness, occasionally to find herself covered in sweat as her fever broke and then returned. She felt like she was dying slowly, though it was surely an exaggeration. The pang of hunger kept her stomach growling noisily at her in reminder every time she opened her eyes.

When at last she could deny herself food no longer, Remy gingerly lifted herself out of the bed. She was no longer shivering from the cold, though her clothes seemed to be soaked by her own sweat. Her hair was disheveled and wet from the all of the perspiration. Looking a little more than worse for wear she trudged out of the guest room, peering either way as she entered the hallway. It was dimly lit by some candles but there was no one in sight. They were all probably in bed already. Her feet dragged against the exquisitely decorated carpet as she trudged down the hallway. The manor was silent aside from the sound of her bare feet scraping against the floor.

She rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. It was just as empty as the hallway had been, and just as poorly lit. Remy maneuvered around the metal carts and various counters, over to open shelf where she spotted a loaf of bread. Using the strength of her fingers, she managed to peel off a large clump of the bread.

Holding it precariously in her hand, she turned back to leave the kitchen. As she entered the hallway she nibbled on the edge of the bread, clasped tightly in the grip of her fingers. Remy glanced back toward the way she'd come from her room. Since her fever had broke she felt better, and thanks to sleeping nearly all day long, she wasn't the least bit tired. Maybe a breath of fresh air would be nice. The carpet tickled the bottoms of her feet as she took the passageway leading to the servant's rear exit.

The door creaked when she opened it. The bread in her hand was almost finished, with just the outer crust remaining. Remy stepped out onto the cold ground. It was hard to tell that it was spring; the dirt was nearly frozen. She disregarded the stinging sensation against the soles of her feet as she walked out of the shadow cast against the manor by the moonlight. Once she had walked just a short distance she could see almost the full expanse of the sky. From the thousands of small, glittering stars to the large silver moon that seemed to be the king of the night's kingdom; sitting as the largest, and brightest of all the wonders in the sky.

When she reached her hand up, it didn't seem so far away. Although it was nothing more than an illusion, it seemed as though she could reach it. If she just stretched a little further it would all be in her hands. A comforting thought. Her brother had once commented on it.

Remy swallowed the last bite of her bread. Since she'd had that nightmare earlier she'd been unable to get thoughts of her brother off her mind. The memories haunted her, like demons that wouldn't get off her back. It seemed like the past was a vicious cycle with an unrelenting grip... But that's why she'd come this far. Tolerating a murderer, suffering a spoiled nobleman's antics, it had all been for the sake of the past and perhaps also for a future that Remy had faith in.

The squeak of an opening door in the distance alarmed her. The red-haired girl dropped her hand and peered through the darkness at the rear door of the manor. That's where the sound had come from, but through the shadows and the darkness she couldn't even distinguish the figure coming toward her. There was what appeared to be a small, flickering candlelight that appeared to grow brighter as the person moved toward her.

At last when the person emerged from the shadows she could make out their silhouette. Remy wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not to see Alois's figure emerging into the silvery light of the moon. The short locks of his sunny blonde hair bounced as he walked toward her with that deranged smile spread across his lips.

"It was a little surprising to see you had left your bed, Remy. Are you feeling that well that you should be outside?" He spoke the question with mock concern. There was nothing caring in the way he seemed to be so amused as he eventually came to a stop directly in front of her.

Since there was virtually no wind the flame dancing upon the wick of the candle remained undisturbed despite the cool night's air. Remy couldn't help but feel a little surprised that, despite his overwhelming fear of darkness, he'd sought her out. "My fever broke," she assured in a monotone voice.

His grip on the candle seemed to tighten as he brought it closer to his face, fully lighting every edge of his features. Remy could now see his uneasiness and the perspiration trickling down his brow. He wasn't as unaffected as she thought he was. "Is that so?" He tried to sound as arrogant and cocky as always but he strained.

Remy reached her hands up toward him. All ten of her long, slender fingers that were numb from the cold encircled his neck. His skin was warm against her fingers, and she could feel the thrumming of his heart. "I could kill you," she whispered.

Alois seemed to be breathing heavy as he lifted the candle in her direction. The heat of the flame caressed her cheek, though he held it far enough away from her so as not to burn her. He wanted to see her eye. As much as it disgusted him, it also managed to comfort him. "Were you trying to run away from me?" His voice didn't sound as threatening as it usually did. It was lackluster in comparison. Gone was the menacing growl, replaced by an almost desperate pleading.

"Is that why you came out here?" She held his neck loosely in the grasp on her hands, as though it gave her some sense of power that she could choke him.

The blonde-haired nobleman seemed to have no sense of fear from her. His eyes merely stared at her hollowly. "I won't let you run away." It was supposed to sound forceful, like a threat, and yet there was nothing intimidating about his soft whisper. His cheeks were pallid and gleaming in the light with sweat.

It would have been so easy to choke him. Especially in a time when Claude wasn't present and no one could protect him. Alois had revealed himself to her at his most vulnerable point, in the darkness with nothing but a single candlelight. He would be traumatized if she just blew out that flame and abandoned him. Why would someone so proud allow themselves to be exposed at their weakest? To chase down someone completely unimportant, to cling to a person whose presence was insignificant? Remy mused the irony of it.

They were two people masquerading as something they were not and they had become lost in their own masks. Together they were entangled in a web of lies and deceit they had spun for each other. Perhaps it was a mutual thread of loathing and resentment that held them together... Like the red string of fate.

Remy didn't understand him. How he went from laying beside her to commanding her to leap to an icy death in the waters of a half-frozen lake. His unpredictability was unsettling, and yet she didn't mind it in the least. Maybe that's what she disliked the most... That it didn't even bother her.

Her fingers tightened.

Why didn't she feel inclined to just go a step further and strangle him? If she squeezed tight enough, he wouldn't be able to breathe. There would be no screaming for help. No one would see him thrashing through the darkness outside. They would all be unsuspecting that their young master was being held by the claws of death.

"You won't kill me." He laughed in her face. Even though he seemed to be nervous about the darkness, Alois still managed to act smug. The young earl had such confidence that was she was incapable of murder that it almost spurred her on.

But Remy wasn't one to be goaded. She closed her eye. "You're right," she agreed reluctantly as she released him.

It had become a habit for the two of them to make idle threats about strangling each other. Most likely because they each had some inclination to want to kill the other without the motivation to do so. At least it was reassuring that, at any point in time, they could take it just one step further. One step further and it would all be over. She had to do it to remind him. He had to do it to keep her.

Alois's hand, which was holding the candle, seemed to be trembling. "We're going back inside," he insisted. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her along behind him.

She stumbled but managed to keep up. Her feet felt numb shuffling across the ground. Remy couldn't even feel the cold anymore, although she was vaguely aware of the warmth of Alois's fingers as he gripped her wrist tightly. A strange feeling overcame her, like a faint sense of happiness that she wasn't familiar with. But as she lifted her gaze to look up at the boy stringing her along back toward the manor she noticed something. Wax had trickled down the candle he'd been carrying, and without the proper holder to catch the hot wax, it had dripped over his fingers.

Considering Alois's incredibly low tolerance for pain, Remy was mildly shocked that he hadn't voiced a complaint about it. She was aware that he was still nervous by the way his whole body still seemed to be trembling. Perhaps adrenalin had numbed him to the burning sensation, but she still felt a small sting of guilt. It seemed silly to feel any amount of pity for someone like Alois, who had surely put her through some of the most torturous situations. But Remy did have a conscience.

"Master," she spoke up quickly. They were still a long way off from the rear servant's door to the manor when she froze in place and wouldn't move.

At any normal time, she would've expected him to make some kind of jab at her for not following him obediently, but this time he just glanced back at her awkwardly with a blank look on his face. He swallowed hard, "What?"

Remy reached out toward his hand. Her fingers grazed across his and she could feel that his skin was caked in cooled wax, mingled with new wax that had dripped down onto his hand. She slowly pried it away from his fingers, though Alois seemed reluctant to let her.

"Stop," he commanded in a forceful tone.

She paid him no mind and took the candle from his hand. "It might be dark if you close your eyes," she mumbled, "But that kind of darkness might be better than the one out here." Remy pulled her other hand away from his grasp and lifted it up to his face. She placed her hand over his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He sounded even more nervous than before. The candle was gone from his hands and he couldn't see anything. Alois hated that feeling the most. The only thing worse was _seeing_ the darkness. Seeing the vague outlines that brought the memories rushing back.

_**Thump...**_

As the candle dropped to the ground, the flame extinguished suddenly. It was once again nearly pitch black. "Hold my hand," she asserted, her fingers brushing against the palm of his hand.

He inhaled sharply. Feeling that he had no choice, he reluctantly grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Keep your eyes closed."

Alois gave a small inclination of a nod, and at that same moment her hand fell away from his face. His eyelids kept shut tightly. The thought that there was darkness out there that would come rushing in if he even chanced a glance made him panic. He could barely keep his nerves under control.

But then Remy pulled him toward her and held his hand, and while clinging to his arm, she guided him forward. "You burned your hand with the wax," she observed.

Though he wondered, in the back of his mind, if perhaps this was some kind of plot of hers... If maybe she was going to lead him deeper into the woods surrounding the manor and then abandon him... That didn't seem to be the case. Not when, just a minute later, they stopped and he heard the creak of the opening door. Alois breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Once they were inside he could open his eyes again. However, he didn't let go of her hand even after he could see.

It made him a bit uneasy, but there was something strangely comforting about being near Remy. He sensed a subtle kindness in her that was utterly foreign to him. It was unfathomable; she had helped him when she could have easily betrayed him after how callous he'd been. But perhaps he was mistaking her motives for kindness.

"I'll take you back to your room."

Alois flinched. "No," he responded hoarsely. He quickly recomposed himself and tried to assume his usual playful, snarky tone. "You'll sleep with me, Remy. I won't let you try and run away again."

Through the dimly lit hallway he couldn't see the small, wistful smile on her face as she said, "Yes, master."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just in case some people didn't notice, Fanfiction has been messing up a lot lately. Sometimes the new chapters haven't been showing so you might have encountered that issue but hopefully the problem is fully resolved soon. I promise I'm not intentionally try to mess with your heads. :D (Although I do enjoy messing with peoples head's through my story but not in _that_ way.) So I just wanted to give out another HUGE thanks to everyone for all the reviews. I was stuck in a terrible writer's block for like the last couple of weeks so I was glad I had this chapter written in advance. Finally got out of the rut, though, and I've started writing again. (Hence updating on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.)

Since you guys have been so awesome about reviewing and it has really motivated me, I wanted to give you guys a thanks in someway. I thought about offering a one-shot to the 50th reviewer, but I'm really bad at requests from people because my muse is really picky. So instead this for those of you that **want** to participate. At the end of your review, tell me what anime/pairing/genre (you don't have to add pairing or genre if you don't want to) you would like me to do a one-shot about. You can suggest up to two different ones you'd like to see. I can write about _anything_. Since I've read/watched a lot feel free to mention something outside of Kuroshitsuji. As for pairings, you're free to suggest any pairing. That includes boyxboy pairings. I will probably only pick one but if I feel motivated I might pick more. :) (We'll see how this goes~)


	12. Deceiving Ourselves

Strange, it was really strange.

His fingertips brushed over her lips, which were both dry and chapped. Not moist like he had remembered. Her skin looked especially pallid in the bright sunlight pouring in through the curtains of his room. The golden rays seemed to caress every part of her face, giving her skin an eerie glow. As he focused on her face he noticed that beneath that closed eyelid of hers, there seemed to be motion. Was she dreaming? Her breathing had grown heavy and there was perspiration on her brow. It must have been a nightmare. A nightmare she was having, Alois mused, was surely about him. It gave him a strange euphoric feeling to think that he was able to haunt her even in her dreams. Even in sleep she could not escape him.

That thick, fiery red hair of hers entangled itself between his fingers. It was smooth as silk and still smelled like the bath oils she'd doused herself in the day before. As he inhaled the scent, he savored it.

What was so strange - what he mulled over constantly - was that he found himself so grossly enamored with her, to a degree that he couldn't think of allowing her to slip through his grasp. Like Claude, she belonged to him. She was not allowed to leave. It was unthinkable. His fingers squeezed the locks of her hair tightly into a fist. He was never going to let her go.

If, like a butterfly, she sprouted wings and tried to fly away from him, he would tear off those beautiful wings of hers... Rip them to shreds and keep her caged. The thought delighted him as smiled against her hair.

Though she'd had the opportunity the previous night to escape him, at a time when he had no way of stopping her, she came back. Even though he'd unintentionally exposed himself, without thinking, terrified of the idea that she would disappear. But Remy had returned to him faithfully. She couldn't abandon him.

Although she'd had the perfect opportunity when she slipped out in the middle of the night with no one noticing, she still came back to him. When he saw her from his window, wandering away from the manor, cloaked in the shadows and illuminated only dimly by the inadequate moonlight, he panicked. The flood of memories from losing Luka had tormented him. Driven by that, he only vaguely remembered grabbing up one of the candles from his room before stumbling down the hallway and the set of stairs to chase after her. Unintentionally Alois had exposed his weakness to Remy. That she didn't abandon him left him feeling a bit odd.

Something unrecognizable was churning in the depths of his chest. Knots seemed to twist in the put of his stomach. It was something he was unfamiliar with. Though he ventured to guess it was a bad premonition of things to come, it was more likely a feeling that he simply couldn't put a name to.  
Suddenly Remy stirred in her sleep, a whimper passing through her twitching lips. "Noah," she breathed out in a quiet whisper.

That was a name. It was definitely a name. A name that Alois didn't recognize, but knew to be a boy's name. Something flared in the depths of his chest, reminiscent of anger. His hand jerked, yanking her hair and inevitably her head along with it.

Her eye flew open as she took a gasping breath.

"Who is that?" he asked, his impatience betraying the happy tone of his voice.

Remy squinted through the bright room, illuminated by the glaring light of the sun. It seemed to take her a few moments to register where she was and how she got there in the first place. When at last she adjusted enough to be coherent, she muttered back groggily, "What name...?" She didn't seem to remember.

"While you were sleeping," Alois cooed back as he leaned in toward her face. "You said the name 'Noah'."

There was a flash of recognition in her eye that faded as quickly as it appeared. Her lips formed a frown. "I said that name...?"

It wasn't like her to act coy and it infuriated him. She wasn't answering his question like he wanted her to. Alois's grip tightened on the fistful of her hair that he still held in his hand. "Who is that?" His lips hovered just inches from her own, his warm breath blowing across her skin.

"My brother," she answered truthfully, without restraint.

Although it seemed hypocritical to begrudge her for dreaming of her family when he did the same, Alois was still displeased. "Do you dream about me, Remy?" he ventured, his eyes staring into in hers.

Her eyelid seemed heavy with exhaustion and fluttered in response as she tried desperately to stay awake. It seemed odd since she had slept the whole night. At least, he _thought_ she had slept the whole night. Tiredness was written across her face, though, in the lines under her eye and in the way she seemed almost unresponsive. "I don't remember my dreams."

He suspected otherwise, but smiled at her nonetheless. "You're still sick," Alois told her. "So you won't be able to work for Claude today either."

Remy didn't contest what he was saying. It was true enough that she was still recovering. Though her fever hadn't returned, she still felt a bit sluggish and sore, but that might have merely been from the arduous work she'd been forced to do in the manor rather than from being sick.

Gently, Alois laid his hand across her eye and whispered, in a voice so sweet that it seemed to carry a mocking undertone, "Since you're still tired, you can go back to sleep, Remy. I have something to do but I will be back later. You better be awake by then..." The moment he removed his hand, her eyelid shot back open again. He smiled wryly and leaned in toward her. Their noses brushed as he came closer and closer until there remained only the tiniest of spaces between their lips. It seemed as though he lingered there forever, barely able to see the look in her eye; surprise and anxiousness. "Were you hoping I'd kiss you again?"

Remy's cheeks flushed unwillingly in embarrassment. The feeling of his warm breath brought goose bumps to her skin. She was too startled to speak, her lips trembling as she was caught between what she wanted to say and what she felt she needed to say. But the words rested on the tip of her tongue in her breathlessness.

In a fit of giggles that turned into cackling laughter, Alois pulled away and sat upright on the bed, one hand held against his stomach. "Hah! The expression on your face..." His voice trailed off as the mirth on his face dissipated with it. Alois's neck craned and he flashed her a deranged grin. "It was almost sickening."

"You should hurry to your duties," she responded somberly, having regained her composure.

He continued to giggle boyishly as he hopped off the bed. "Have fun sleeping, Remy."

Sleep? Surely he was jesting. It wasn't possible for her to sleep after the trick he'd pulled. Remy was silently mortified at her own baffling reaction. The way her heart seemed to thump so furiously against her ribcage, as though about to pound right out of her chest - it was a confusing, terrifying feeling. Was it fear? Or perhaps something else entirely?

She pressed her palm against her chest and inhaled slowly to try and steady her breathing. There was no use putting any thought into it. Feelings could be repressed and were unimportant. Remy still had a goal of her own that she'd yet to reach. The first step to recovering time and effort she'd lost was to find Hannah.

Once Alois was safely down the hallway and she could hear the faint thumping of his heels against the carpeted flooring no longer, Remy crawled out from beneath the blanket that was draped over her. From the sound of his footsteps, he'd headed upstairs toward his study. Claude was sure to be attending to him for a while, which gave her leave to search the manor for the silver-haired maid.

But where had Alois hidden Hannah? That Remy, cleaning various rooms throughout the house in the past several days, had not been able to find her. There was only one place where Remy made herself scarce and that was around the kitchen. Since that was the chef's - Timber's - domain. Perhaps she'd been reduced to a scullery maid? That way she was safeguarded from Remy by one of the triplets. That seemed likely to be Alois's thought process.

Her bare feet smacked against the carpeted floor, which tickled against her skin as she shuffled across it and peeked out the door. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she moved out of the room and headed toward the kitchen. Remy couldn't afford to lose more time.

—

"Send another invitation." Alois stroked a finger across his chin, a devious smirk on his face as he leaned back in his chair. "This time it should be a private ball. Just Phantomhive and Trancy. We should make a game of this, Claude!" His eyes seemed alight in mischief as he plotted the nuances of his revenge.

The ever-somber butler, standing just a few feet from the oak desk seemed to grimly nod in acceptance. "Yes, your highness. I will ensure an invitation is sent to the Phantomhive estate as soon as possible." Suddenly his eyes seemed to narrow. "About Remy-"

"She's excused from work," the earl interrupted. "And with the contract destroyed now, I won't have to worry about Ciel's death taking Remy from me." His tongue poked out as he licked along his lips. "Everything is coming into place spectacularly!"

While the young master of the house seemed to be nothing short of jubilant, his butler was ever the logical one. "It may be possible for her eye to regenerate since it is affected by a contract, though it could be possible that the contract is entirely destroyed." It seemed uncharacteristic of him to offer up information without being prompted, but it became slightly more obvious as to why when he continued speaking. "She has motives other than the ones she stated for coming here. Allow me to investigate the matter."

Intrigued, Alois leaned forward, both elbows planted against his desk. "You want to investigate Remy's background?" he asked with a hint of curiosity, which slowly faded away as he heaved a sigh. "Sounds boring, I don't care."

In a flutter of coattails, Claude gave a flourishing bow. "I will see to it with your leave, highness."

Seeming to be uninterested, Alois gave dismissive wave. "Be timely, Claude, and don't botch anything. I'll have to punish you if you do." The mere mention of punishment seemed to delight Alois as he rocked back and forth in his chair, formulating ideas for torture silently in his head.

Since he was far too used to his master's antics to pay them much heed, Claude ignored the threat. "Very well, your highness. Then I will excuse myself for the evening and return to you in the morning." The golden-eyed man promptly left afterward, leaving in his wake a now frowning Alois.

"Leave for the night?" he muttered to himself in dismay. Any time Claude left the manor for any length of time, Hannah was always the one to take care of Alois in the butler's stead. But Alois much preferred to keep the repulsive maid from his sight. Which brought about an idea. There was, actually, one other person capable of fulfilling Claude's role... And since Alois had finished with his "work" for the day, he was going to go find her.

Of course, even as simple minded as he sometimes was, Alois was not so naive as to believe that Remy would obediently and complacently stay in bed and sleep. He was also analytical enough to guess that she would go off searching for Hannah, whether to attempt to resume their contract or simply to check on Hannah's well-being. Fortunately he'd guessed her actions in advance and arranged so that it would be impossible for the two to meet.

The blonde-haired boy smirked to himself as he skipped down the hallway, swinging suddenly around the corner and then darting into the kitchen. "Remy," he sang out in a cheerful tone as he peered around at the well-organized pots and dishes that one of the triplets was tending to. Alois could never really remember their names. They were unimportant anyway.

From the back room, the red-haired girl emerged with a weary look on her face. "Yes, master?"

His head cocked back. "Looking for something?"

As though her presence in the kitchen wasn't already a dead giveaway, Remy apparently felt obligated to admit her guilt. "Yes, I was looking for Hannah." Her apparent inability to hand out even a single lie left her at a disadvantage with Alois, who delighted in her utter honesty.

"You couldn't find her?" he ventured in that knowing tone of his as he strode across the tiled floor. The click-clack of his shoes ended abruptly as he stopped in front of her, his hands perched upon his hips as he regarded Remy condescendingly. "That horrible, disgustingly worthless maid was nowhere to be found?" The blonde-haired boy beamed at her as he leaned in toward Remy's face, "How tragic!"

Her eyes slowly blinked back at him before she turned her head away. "You act like you don't know where she is."

"Should I know?"

Remy eyed him apprehensively. Was he feigning ignorance? There was little innocent about the way he spoke of Hannah. "Forgive the accusation, master. I will excuse myself." Her chin dipped momentarily before she brushed past him and headed for the hallway. But the echo of an extra set of footsteps as she started out of the kitchen caught her attention, and Remy suddenly peeked over her shoulder.

Alois smiled back at her, little more than two feet behind her. "Someone like you wouldn't be able to find Hannah by yourself."

Did that mean he was offering his help? Although she was skeptical about that, Remy didn't contest it. If he wanted to follow her there was nothing she could do to stop him, even if it impeded her search. "Very well," she mumbled back as she turned to focus on the path ahead of her.

As she wandered through the hallways, peering through open doors ways and prying open those that were otherwise closed to her, Remy made her way through the manor while searching for any traces of Hannah. There was the incessant echo of an extra pair of footsteps behind her. Alois didn't merely trail behind her; he kept himself on her heels the entire time, peeking over her shoulder at every stop she made. He made sure that his presence didn't go unnoticed, and yet he proved himself to be of little help since he took no incentive and exerted no effort to assist in Remy's search.

But as she finally started heading toward the servants quarters as a final destination, that extra pair of clicking heels behind her fell silent. While she wasn't particularly interested to know why, Remy had no choice but to stop when Alois called out to her.

"Not going to give up yet?" he ventured in that annoyingly cheerful tone of his. A lofty grin had spread across his lips as he danced across the floor over to her, giggling gleefully as he spun in a circle. "Where, oh where could she have gone?"

Composed as always, Remy merely lifted her brows in response to his mocking antics. "You have no reason to keep her hidden from me anymore. I'm not Luka now. If she takes my soul it shouldn't matter to you."

"Wrong!" Alois sang back at her, waving his finger in the air, like a feather, which came to rest upon her lips. He leaned in toward her until she could feel his breath on her face. "Since you're a servant of Trancy now, you're obligated to serve me until you die... And since you're my servant, you're not allowed to die."

Her lashes fluttered as the warm air blew in and irritated her eyes. Remy's first instinct was to recoil and yet she held steadfast despite the voice in the back of her head urging her to step away from him. Any closeness between them always made her uncomfortable. She narrowed her eyes and steadied herself before making a response. "You want to kill Ciel in order to get revenge against Sebastian. That's your aim, isn't it? Nothing else should matter. That should take precedence."

"I will kill Ciel Phantomhive," he affirmed, "And you will serve me even after I do that. Until my soul rests in Claude's stomach. I want that image to be carved into this eye of yours." Alois reached his hand up and his smooth fingers caressed the edge of her blue eye. Then slowly he traced his touch across her nose and loosened the bandages around her other eye.

The two stood opposite of each other in the middle of the hallway. Remy made no move to back away and waited breathlessly until the bloodstained bandages fell away from her face and drifted down to the ground, landing right beside her feet. Time seemed to stand still as he stared at her, at the eye that Claude had mutilated with Remy's own knife. Until at last he covered it with his hand. "It's still ugly," he told her happily. Then he started to lean in toward her, inch by inch.

Their lips might have collided again, but Remy abruptly pushed him away. Her palms collided against the earl's chest, sending him stumbling backwards as she knelt down to retrieve the bandage crumpled on the ground. "Please don't do unnecessary things." The thin line of her lips curved down into a frown as she secured the bandages over her eye, an endeavor that proved more difficult than it appeared.

Disgruntled by her refusal to comply, Alois sneered at Remy while crossing his arms over his chest. He regarded her condescendingly. "Trying to be disobedient now?" He asked in a taunting tone.

"You didn't issue a command. I have no obligation to do anything that you don't explicitly ask me to do." At last she finished tying a knot on the back of her head with the two loose ends. It was most likely a sloppy job, but she managed to fully cover her eye with the bandage. It had surely been a gruesome sight. Remy hadn't looked at it since Claude had first inflicted the injury. Either way, she couldn't see out of it anymore.

"So you will if I command you?" His tongue poked out and traced a circle from his bottom lip to the top. Then suddenly Alois broke into a smirk as he made a beckoning motion at Remy, curling and then uncurling his finger again.

Without a hint of resignation in her eye, Remy stepped forward until she was right in front of him again. She wanted to hurry. They were wasting precious time loitering; time that would have been better spent searching for Hannah. But she was not about to say something like that to Alois.

Once again he pushed past the boundaries Remy had tried to establish and leaned in close to her face. "Do I disgust you?" he challenged. "Do I sicken you?"

There was a sudden yanking pull on either side of her head as the blonde-haired boy entangled his fingers in her fiery-red hair. She winced from the pain. "No," she answered resolutely.

He pulled harder, until tears sprang to the edges of her eyes and she had to grit her teeth. "Do you hate me?"

Why was he asking so many question? Why did these things matter? Her mind seemed to swirl in confusion. Until at last she blurted out, "No," and her heart sunk the moment that single word had been spoken. Perhaps she would have slapped her hands over her mouth a few seconds sooner, had she given a minute to think about the consequences of her honesty.

Alois's grip loosened until at last he released the locks of her hair. A few strands had already been yanked out. They remained tangled between his fingers until he dropped his hands to his sides, then they fluttered down to the ground. Meanwhile his jaw dropped agape, his brows furrowed against his eyes. "What?" he demanded in a disbelieving tone. Alois almost sounded disappointed.

Caught in her own lie, Remy knew she had no chance to correct what she had said. The truth was already out. "I don't hate you," she admitted reluctantly. "When I told you I did before, that was a lie."

He staggered back a few feet and then stopped. The quizzical look on his face changed as various emotions flickered in his eyes. Eventually he seemed to steel himself and regained that blithe smile as he raised his hand. Surely he was going to hit her, a slap across the face. He'd done the same to Claude and Hannah before.

Remy submissively lowered her head and awaited the impact. She had prepared herself. It couldn't be as painful as having her eye gouged. Whatever punishment he dealt, she was braced for it.

But when his hand collided with the side of her face, there was no force. It was gentle, almost affectionate. In a swift motion he leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. It was brief but strangely sweet, and it was so soft that it left her wondering if it had happened at all.

She raised her fingers to her lips and touched them in disbelief. Instead of slapping her, Alois had kissed her? It didn't make sense. When she looked to him for answers, he was pointing at her and chortling.

"The look on your face!" he declared in amusement, "That's the look. Same as before." When at last the laughter died down, Alois lowered his hand and suddenly turned on his heel to leave. "You can keep searching for Hannah if you want, but you won't find her in the manor." With a smirk, he glanced over his shoulder back at her. "Come to my room tonight."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, guys! Thanks for all the reviews. The feedback really motivated me and I have the next chapter mostly written. (Although it needs heavily edited...) But my next update MIGHT be in a week instead of two weeks from now. Also thanks to those of you that told me what one-shots you'd like to see, as you may have noticed I decided to go with Reira-chan's suggestion of Hanabusa Aidou x OC (Vampire Knight). I'm not the most talented at one-shots but the more I do them the more I'll improve. The other suggestions were awesome, it just so happens that I've always wanted to do a Hanabusa Aidou fic and this was the opportunity for me to do so. Right now I'm pretty busy in school so I can't do more than the one I already did, BUT I may offer to do it again in the future. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


	13. Truth Revealed

"Undress me," he breathed out, "It's a command." Alois was sitting on the bed, leaning back with his arms supporting him to keep him upright. Those eyes of his were narrowed, watching her closely as she made her way toward him. An arrogant smirk was plastered across that face of his. He was challenging her again, mocking her, just to see her squirm.

But Remy always defied his wishes, wearing a deadpan face that revealed no ounce of emotion, as she knelt down in front of him and began to unlace his boots. Apparently he was frustrated by the lack of a reaction and shook her fingers away by kicking. She briefly glanced up at him with that questioning blue eye of hers, but he merely smiled cruelly back.

"Frustrated?" he asked.

Tearing her gaze away, she continued to loosen the braided shoelaces. "Of course not, Master." She seemed so enamored with the task that she didn't even chance another glance up at him. Her eyes were fixated on his shoes.

Alois frowned to himself. It was boring if he couldn't get a reaction out of her. There seemed to be only one thing that managed to elicit that delightfully flustered face of hers. He loved seeing it. He wanted to see it again. "Remy," he drawled out her name slowly.

Before she could gaze up at him, she felt his fingertips crawl across her cheek. She shuddered at how cold his hands felt. "Yes, Master?" Her voice sounded weary, and her exhaustion showed by the dark circle beneath her eye.

He leaned down toward her, cupping her chin in his palm. "Are you tired?" There was something in his voice that would have sounded like concern but Remy knew better than to be fooled by it. After all, it was his fault that she'd spent most of the day searching high and low for any signs of Hannah. True to his words, Remy hadn't been able to find even a trace. Whatever bedroom Hannah had been staying in before had been completely emptied.

"Your hands are cold." She reached up to grasp his hand but suddenly Alois pulled her forward. His face was rapidly approaching. Was he going to kiss her again? Her eye snapped shut as her breath got caught up in the back of her throat, waiting in anticipation.

But although she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face, there was not the familiar feeling of their lips touching. Remy thought to peek but before she could even try, she suddenly felt something bump gently against her eye. A moment later when her eyelid fluttered open, she realized he'd kissed her there – on the eye he so hated. It left her bewildered, something bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She felt uneasy.

"You'll stay with me forever."

Suddenly his whole body seemed to almost flop down on top of her. Remy was only vaguely aware that his arms had wrapped around the side of her arms while his head rested against her shoulder. Was he hugging her? She stiffened. "M-master?" she stuttered out questioningly.

He breathed out a sigh against her neck, the moist air crawling across her skin and causing her to shiver. "Should I kill Ciel...?"

It was a startling question. Remy suddenly grabbed hold of Alois's shoulders. "You must," she urged, in a way that seemed almost out of character for her. Her voice was tinged with desperation. "You have to kill Ciel Phantomhive."

"Kill Ciel Phantomhive to achieve my revenge against Sebastian... For Luka. But if I do that, then... Claude will take my soul." Suddenly his hand reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair. "If I'm dead... What will you do, Remy?"

Why did it feel like her heart had suddenly stopped when he said that? The words she wanted to speak were caught up in the back of her throat. "You don't want to die?" she croaked, as though on the verge of tears. Strange since Remy had never cried before. He had never heard such emotion welled up into her voice.

He drug his fingers through the tangled locks of her wind-swept hair. She smelled like the trees. Maybe she had been searching for Hannah outside earlier. Alois inhaled the scent. "I'm not afraid of death," he quipped indignantly, as though he'd taken her words offensively and assumed that she was calling him a coward. "Luka is the most important person to me. You're nothing next to Luka." But there was no confidence in his voice as he spoke those words, as though he was trying to convince himself.

But maybe he was losing his resolve. Killing Ciel meant he achieved his revenge but it could also mean his death. It could also mean Remy's death. For so long he thought that wasn't important, that he wouldn't mind dying if he'd achieved his aim of avenging his little brother. But maybe this useless, disgusting, fragile creature he was holding had given him a taste of life he couldn't forget. It was her fault – she was trying to _change_ him. Or so he told himself.

"Giving up on your revenge would mean betraying Luka. You can't do that. You _cannot_," she reemphasized.

Although it was odd for Remy to be goading him into achieving his revenge, she too had made a contract (supposedly) to see to it that he completed it. Perhaps she had some motivation for seeing Ciel killed as well. Not that he cared nor questioned why she was trying to encourage him to take a life only to lose his own.

It steeled his resolve somehow to hear those words, cold as winter, reminding him that if he chose to forsake revenge then it was in essence betraying his brother. His _beloved_ little brother. Alois could not bring himself to do that.

"You don't think I would give up my revenge so easily, do you?" he asked sardonically.

Although she could not lay her eyes upon his face to see if his words belied his true intentions, Remy took some measure of relief from what he had said. "Of course not, Master." She was reassured. There was no way he would falter from his goals. "Please sit up once more and I will finish with your-"

"No need for it, unless... You wanted to see me naked?" Suddenly Alois had leaned back and was gazing into her eye with that mischievous look on his face. His grin widened the moment her cheeks flushed red. "Ah? Did I guess right?" He was inching closer again, taking delight in how she squirmed every time he was in close enough proximity to kiss her.

"That would be inappropriate," Remy responded unconvincingly. She wasn't even looking at him. This time her eye was averted.

"You're lying to me," he whispered back as his fingers brushed against her chin and then caressed the side of her face. The feeling of his skin against hers caused Remy to tense up. "Be honest, Remy. You actually like me... Don't you?"

"Master, if you don't need my help than I should leave and-"

Before she could finish her sentence, his lips crash against hers in another kiss. It was only their third and yet it wasn't as hateful as the last two but instead bittersweet. The feelings that lingered between them were a mix of mutual resent, loathing and a feel of dependency upon each other that they couldn't escape. Remy closed her eye. His lips felt so warm and she could feel one of his arms still draped around her while his other hand remained poised against her cheek. Caught up in all of the emotions, she forgot to breathe, and so when Alois leaned away she gasped for air.

"Ahaha!" he trilled at her panicked expression. "That look is even better than last time." Alois flopped back against the mattress, his arms finally pulling away from her.

Remy's cheeks still felt warm but she was at least glad he couldn't see her. She lifted a trembling hand to touch her fingers to her lips. "You need to stop doing that, Master," she whispered irritably.

"It's really weird." He pressed his hand to his chest. Alois could feel his heart thumping furiously against his palm. Every time he teased Remy it seemed to happen and he couldn't figure it out. There had never been a sensation quite like it before. It wasn't unpleasant – actually, it made him want to do it more. So strange... he couldn't understand it.

"I should leave and let you get your rest if you don't want me to undress you."

That part was odd too. Why did he suddenly not want her to see him naked? He felt disgruntled by it. "Don't leave," Alois commanded suddenly as he jolted upright, catching her wrist just as she started to stand. He grinned at her wryly.

Somehow she had a bad feeling about this. "Is there something else you need, Master?"

"You're going to sleep with me again tonight."

Although she had been hoping to escape, Remy should have known better. He would never let her go. Not from her obligations as his servant and not from this. She was already tangled up in his web. There was no use resisting anymore. "Yes, master..." As he released her and she crawled into the bed beside him, she couldn't suppress the floating feeling in her chest, the little knots twisting... It was a vague feeling of happiness that she wanted to ignore but could not.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close – constricted her movement completely. "You won't get away." Those possessive words that may have once sounded like a trap gave her two distinct feelings. A sting of guilt and a swell of pride. Both for entirely different reasons.

"What about your boots-"

"Claude will get them in the morning. He said he would be back. Go to sleep."

Commanding as always and yet somehow she didn't mind it. "Master?"

He shifted against the mattress, drawing the blanket up around their bodies. It was strange how he made sure to tuck it around her... As though he was almost concerned about her getting cold. Impossible, Remy was sure, because Alois was anything but kind. "What is it?" he answered back sweetly though there was a hint of mocking in his voice.

"If you die... I will remember you."

"How nice," he cooed back at her, "So you really do have feelings for me, Remy. But being remembered by you is useless. I don't need anything, just my revenge."

"I know that. But even so, I _will_ remember you."

The hardened look in his eyes softened as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "Just go to sleep." He sounded a bit annoyed but the expression on his face belied that, although she couldn't see it. However useless he might have thought it was to be remembered by someone like her, maybe it made him happy – even if only a little bit.

His own thoughts preoccupied him enough that as time passed and the flickering candles on his dresser burned away, Alois could not fall asleep. He tuned his hearing into the sound of Remy's breathing as it gradually slowed along with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She had fallen asleep rather quickly, and as she dozed away she nuzzled against his chest, eliciting a strange feeling that left him somewhat paralyzed.

In his life there were few moments in time that he wished would never end. Somehow this was one of them. Perhaps more than those times when he lay against the grass and stared up at the stars alongside his brother, or the times they huddled together beneath a paper-thin blanket just hoping to survive the night. Suddenly he didn't want to fall asleep. Even though his eyelids were starting to shut against his will, he wanted to stay awake – if just a few moments longer to embed this feeling, this image into his mind, to never forget this.

But sleep always sweeps people away against their will and Alois was no exception, regardless of his position as heir of Trancy. Fortunately this time the night proved forgiving; no nightmares plagued either of them. Entangled with each other, they slept peacefully, both wearing a smile on their face.

—

It sounded like... There were bird chirping outside? She drowsily rolled over to avoid the glaring rays of the sun that so nosily tried to seep into her closed eyelids. But then she realized something – the fact that she _could_ roll over. Alois had been holding her so tightly the night before that she couldn't have wriggled free if she had wanted too. Now she felt a palpable absence as though he wasn't there.

Suddenly she jerked upright and craned her neck, blearily searching for his form in the space beside her, but it was vacant. Before she could turn her head to scan the room, a voice jolted her. "Looking for me, Remy?"

Her shoulders relaxed as she recognized him and Remy heaved a sigh as she languidly gazed over at the door, where he was leaning against the frame. Alois was smirking at her smugly. "Master," she greeted tersely, "Good morning."

"You sure were taking your sweet time sleeping. You must have been dreaming about something nice," he sneered back.

The words didn't sting her, regardless of how he tried to mock her and make his usual cheap shots. "You're up early." Perhaps early wasn't the term – maybe she was just up late, but regardless Remy rarely slept longer than Alois did.

"Claude hasn't come back yet..."

The way he said it almost made it sound like bad news. Remy was almost delighted to hear that the stoic butler was missing. His disappearance had the power to make her almost gleeful. But for whatever reason, she wasn't smiling. Perhaps because she could sense that, in some form or another, Alois was discontented and disturbed by his butler's absence. "What time is it?"

"Ten and he should have been back by eight." Usually Alois would have smirked and said something about doling out severe consequences and about how he would punish Claude, but there remained only a ghost of a smile on his lips as he stood there with his arms crossed. Things were looking almost grim from the way his eyes were cast down upon the floor. He was unusually somber.

"You are worried," Remy surmised.

He glared back at her. "Worried?" Alois echoed incredulously. "What do I care about a demon?"

That was a blatant lie and she knew it. Without a moment of hesitancy, she threw the comforter away from her legs and leaped out of the bed, brushing right by Alois. He seemed slightly stunned at first at how she marched right out and then down the hallway. She was still wearing her servants clothes from yesterday, feet completely bare as they shuffled across the carpet. But there was a look of determination in her eye.

The blonde-haired nobleman rushed after her. "Remy, where are you going?" His voice wavered as though he was starting to panic.

"I will go out and seek Claude."

Those words caused him to pause just long enough for her to reach the steps and as she descended them, Remy could hear him clambering down not too far behind her. "Wait, you're not allowed to leave!"

She disregarded his words. "The triplets can take care of you while I am gone."

Before long they were already at the front door, and although Remy didn't have any shoes on, she didn't seem bothered by it. She rapidly approached the door with her head held high and shoulders rolled back. It was odd for her to seem so intent on something, especially involving Claude.

Alois caught up to her before she could reach the double doors leading outside, and he grabbed hold of her wrist. "I never commanded you to leave," he hissed at her, completely losing his composure and usual facade.

"That doesn't matter," she briskly responded with a pointed glare. "You can't complete your revenge without Claude."

Those words rendered him defenseless and Alois reluctantly released her. His hand fell to his side as his trembling lips opened and closed. He seemed to want to say something but was incapable. The nobleman just watched in silence as Remy continued to march to the door. Every step was played in slow motion. He listened intently to the sound of each footstep.

**Thump.**

She was going to leave but she didn't even know the first place to look, where she would go – how she would find him. It was foolhardy and they both knew it. But she was determined, perhaps not because of revenge but for some other reason. The feeling of helplessness at standing around and waiting – she couldn't tolerate that, and yet Remy was an unnaturally patient person.

**Thump.**

What if she did manage to find Claude? The thought was comforting and it made him relax, if only momentarily. Then his paranoid mind turned to another possibility. What if she didn't find him? What if... Remy never came back?

**Thump.**

All of those what ifs swelled in his brain and entangled themselves. He couldn't make sense of everything swirling around in his heart – in his mind – it was all too confusing for him to sort out. So Alois did the only thing he knew how.

**Thump**.

"I command you to stop!" he bellowed hoarsely.

**Thump.**

She was still walking. Did she not hear him? No – she wasn't listening. Remy was already almost at the door.

**Thump.**

Alois broke into a dead run. Remy's figure, which had been receding moments ago, grew closer and closer until he was able to throw his arms around her shoulders. He held her so tightly that it was probably painful, and yet she let out no strangled cry or yelp to signify that she was bothered by it. Remy didn't struggle at all. She never did.

"Let me go. Nothing but your revenge matters... Remember?"

"I lied."

Her heart felt like it had stopped beating in that moment. "W-what?" Remy stuttered back in disbelief, her blue eye opened wide as a saucer. "What are you saying?"

Alois pressed his face into the back of her head. Even the smell of her hair which flooded his nose could not calm him, nor the feel of the silk strands that caressed his cheeks. Nothing could quell the storm brewing inside of him. His grip around her tightened. "Don't leave me," he was begging her – Alois was _begging_ her. It wasn't a command. "Only you, you're not allowed to leave. I..."

"Don't say it."

"I don't..."

"Shut up."

"I don't want..."

"Stop talking!" she yelled back as she slapped her hands over her ears, chanting the words in her mind as though it would drowned out the sound of his voice.

"I don't want revenge anymore."

All of the color in her face drained away and suddenly her legs collapsed from under her. Remy fell slack in Alois's arms and her body weight forced them onto the ground. Even as he dropped to his knees, he kept his grip on her as tight as ever, and yet like a formless jellyfish, Remy slumped back against him. Her lips were trembling in disbelief. Remy's head head had fallen against his chest and Alois was in full view of her face, of the glassy look in her eye as tears welled in her tear duct and spilled over.

"You weren't supposed to say that," she said hoarsely as she stared up at nothing. "Why did you say that?"

It was a little confusing for him to hear her speak that way, as though it bothered her that he had made this decision. He couldn't understand it. Everything was perfect now – Claude had disappeared and Hannah was gone. Without him willingly pursuing revenge, their contracts would remain incomplete. They could live together. Did she not understand that? Did she not want that?

He was jerked away from his thoughts as he felt her fingers, warm yet rough and calloused, crawling across his cheek like a spider. The irony that it reminded him of Claude was strange and bitter. Alois grinned at her lopsidedly. "Didn't think I cared about you at all and now you're stunned to tears? How disgust-"

But he was interrupted. "Why couldn't you have just been happy with your revenge? I didn't want you to give it up."

Those words made him feel indignant and he glared at her. "It's my choice. You thought you could be free if I died? Is that why you wanted me to complete my revenge?" He chortled, "I see. Now I think I understand you, Remy. But I won't let you go!" This time his arms tightened into a vice-grip that elicited a noticeable wince from Remy.

"That hurts," she breathed out with a frown, "But I just want you to answer one question."

"What's that?" He raised his brow at her questioningly, still sporting the usual smirk – now fully returned to his normal arrogant self.

"It's not possible... Surely it's not possible, but... You don't love me, do you?"

_Love?_ That word hit him like cold water in the middle of winter. Alois couldn't even manage a derisive snort or a crude remark. He just stared down into her face as he scrambled for the words to say. He could think of nothing cunning – he was at a loss for words.

Then the very object that had been the one to orchestrate this event, even if inadvertently, appeared in the doorway as the double doors cracked open. Claude regarded the two on the floor with those questioning golden eyes of his. "Your highness," he greeted with a sweeping bow, the intensity of his gaze not leaving Remy's face.

Alois suddenly released Remy and after she sat up, freeing his legs. He then stood. "You're late, Claude."

"Forgive me," the butler responded solemnly, "It took longer than expected."

The blonde-haired boy disregarded his apology. "Then quickly, give me the report. Did he accept the invitation?" Although he had just disowned any intention of achieving his revenge, he still asked. Remy glanced up at him – genuinely curious, for the first time, wondering if he had been honest with her.

"It appears they have taken the bait, your highness." Claude inclined his head slightly, eyes wandering from Remy back up to Alois. "Are you sure you want her present for the rest of my report?" Although his lips were always a grim, thin line they were slightly upturned – was he almost grinning? It was unsettling and Remy couldn't help looking away.

"There is nothing she can't hear. You have more? Out with it."

The black-haired man paused to adjust his glasses as he stood fully once more. "As you desire... The reason it took me a little longer to return to your side, your highness, is because of the investigation you permitted me to do. I have all of the information now. Would you like me to recite my findings now?"

Investigation? Remy looked at Alois questioningly but he seemed just as clueless as she felt. "Investigation?" he repeated, tilting his head slightly to the side. "What do you mean?"

"The Claire family did indeed serve the late Trancy, who was just as lascivious as you remember. In fact, it appears that the eldest son of the Claire family was being used by the previous head of Trancy. So his father decided that, to avenge him, he would contract a demon to kidnap and kill Trancy's only heir."

"You would know that!" Remy snapped at him, her voice conveying every ounce of bitterness that she held. "You were the demon contracted!"

Claude didn't even look at her or flinch at the accusation. "Therefore, your highness, her true intentions in coming here were probably to see your revenge accomplished because of the vulnerability it would create in the moment it took me to devour your soul. She returned to the Trancy estate for her own revenge."

The red-haired girl calmly gazed up at Alois, her legs still folded beneath her as she sat on the ground. "You really asked Claude to investigate my background." Her voice trembled with disbelief as much she tried to act composed. It was a bitter taste of irony and while she wanted to question whether or not he had any trust in her, it was pointless. They had never trusted each other, there had never been a reason to. Everything between them – no, there had never _been_ anything between them. It was foolish to think that there were feelings beyond bitterness and resentment. "It was a lie," she concluded.

"So you wanted me to die for your freedom _and _for your revenge, hm, Remy?" He smiled sweetly as he cocked his head back and to the side. But there was nothing sweet about it; Alois was positively malicious.

She eyed him for a moment as if contemplating whether or not to answer his question that was posed more as a presumptuous statement. "That's right," Remy said finally, her voice sounding hollow. "I came here to avenge my father and my brother. You are the fake heir of Trancy. So when I found out about your revenge, it was the perfect opportunity. Once you completed it, Hannah was going to help me kill Claude. That was our contract."

Alois's hands balled into tight fists at his side. "Enough, I don't care to hear anything else. Claude, take her back to her room and make sure she stays there. You won't leave, Remy, but I won't see your ambitions completed either." He smiled at her sinisterly.

Claude waited for a moment to see if Remy would stand on her own, but she just sat there with a downcast look on her face. He reached with both hands under her arms and hauled her up and onto her feet. Shockingly, she didn't try to pull away from him. There was a vacant look on her face as he guided her, holding her arm by the elbow, out of the entryway and back into the center of the manor where her room was.

Once the two passed by Alois, the expression on his face changed to match his true feelings; he was shocked. Disheartened and feeling betrayed perhaps. He glanced over his shoulder after them. Maybe he thought Remy would look back at him – and he wasn't sure what he would expect her to say or do if she did, but it didn't matter. All he saw of her receding figure was the back of her head as she allowed Claude to pull her along.

Perhaps he had expected some bitter words of accusation to be thrown at him for allowing Claude to conduct the investigation. She did seem surprised by it. He had been foolish in thinking that she was merely trying to be helpful by encouraging him in his revenge. Of course she had an ulterior motive.

How stupid, he admonished inwardly as he stood there in the midst of the hallway, left to only the silence. After all, the only person he truly cared about was Luka, and the only person still truly looking out for well-being (regardless of ulterior motives) was Claude. Those were the only two things that he had.

He trudged dumbly up to his study, where Claude joined him after seeing to his duty of guiding Remy back to her room. Alois couldn't help the stinging curiosity. "Did she say anything?" He wondered to his butler. Perhaps he silently cursed himself for the concern that prompted him to ask the question.

"Only one thing. 'It's over.' That's all she said, your highness."

"Claude, you're not allowed to leave me." Alois slumped forward against his desk, lying the side of his face against the cool wood surface. "Everyone else always leaves me, but you're not allowed to." Yes, Claude was the only thing he had left. If everything else disappeared, at least his butler was obligated to fulfill the contract.

But the butler just seemed to ignore the command. "I will prepare your afternoon tea and snack. Excuse me." He gave a brief bow that Alois didn't even bother to glance up at, before he left. The tail of his coat fluttered behind him as he walked briskly down the hallway.

Alois remained behind in his bent over position, staring off at the wall as he muttered, "Hoheo taralna, rondero taral."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'm glad to hear people say they like Remy. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, I tried to add a bit of angst that will only get heavier with the next chapter. Let me know what you guys think!


	14. Acidic Corrosion

Descending down a hallway, hidden amongst the rippling shadows, cloaked in darkness – a solitary figure accompanied only by the sound of clicking heels. It was quiet enough to be unheard, but in a manor that was otherwise silent, it was deafeningly loud. The noise was like a booming drum, pounding restlessly into the ears of the person listening for it.

When the door cracked open, she didn't even have to crane her neck back to know who it was. She could guess without looking. "No one saw you coming?" Despite the question, her voice lacked any significant trace of curiosity; she didn't truly want to know. Meaningless conversation, it could be considered – but Remy was just biding time.

The door closed with a muffled thud, and the swishing of the hem of a dress could be heard as the person strode over toward the bed. "Master is sound asleep."

"And Claude?"

"I escaped his notice..."

Remy breathed a resigned sigh as she slowly turned around, tearing her gaze from the wall. She had been staring it down for most of the night, as though somehow the power of her eyes would magically bore a hole into the wall. It would certainly provide an escape – an escape from something she had been dreading since the day had come to a close. "Hannah..."

The silver-haired maid gave an acknowledging bow of the head.

"Is the contract complete?" Her stony gaze rose slowly, until she stared steadfastly at the woman towering over her. "Is it all over now?" The way she worded the question was as though she had doubt, but in reality, Remy had all but resigned herself.

"The contract is complete."

For a while she had been hoping to never hear those words. She swallowed the lump lodged in the back of her throat, struggled to push it all the way down – bitter and corrosive as it seemed to roll back into the pit of her stomach where it surely had risen from in the first place – and then she closed her eye. A deep inhale, then a slow exhale, and she opened her eye again. The candle flickered only a short distance away, highlighting the lines of worry on her face, so deeply etched into her skin that it was unmistakable.

"Is there something you would like to say?" Hannah still spoke respectfully, though lacking her usual noticeable stutter. She smiled awkwardly, a surprisingly warm smile. But although it was surely meant as reassurance, that friendly gesture probably did more harm than Hannah realized.

A smile, as it was supposed to be, seemed to signify hope. Remy had no hope. "Even though it was a lie, you'll still take my soul?" She was despairing beneath the calm facade she had on the surface.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to as a lie, Master, but the stipulations of the contract have been fulfilled."

Once again, there had been no point in asking. Remy already knew. This was the end of the line. Whatever wretched sins she had committed in life had certainly come around full circle to condemn her. She had no choice to accept her fate.

Or so it would seem, but she slowly unfolded her legs from beneath her and scooted off the side of the bed. Her muscles seemed to tingle – as though they had fallen asleep from how long she had been sitting there in that position. Remy stumbled a bit as she made a semi-circle around Hannah, until she was standing in the middle of the room.

"Will it hurt?" she asked.

"I... can't promise it won't." Hannah frowned uneasily and her gaze faltered to the floor as she turned slowly to face Remy. "I'll try to be gentle-"

"Don't," Remy interrupted, "I don't think I could bear warmth right now. Don't be gentle, make it hurt. The pain will remind me that I was alive, remind me of all the things I don't want to be reminded of."

"You torture yourself."

Steeling herself for what was to surely come, Remy reflected a frown in response to Hannah's words. "I always have." Once that had been addressed, she changed the subject. "When you're done, leave my body here. And as my final order as your master, Hannah, speak not a word to anyone of the conditions of our contract. Let the world forget that I ever existed."

Not one to argue regardless of whether she agreed, Hannah gave a reluctant nod. "Y-yes," she hesitantly responded, resuming her usual stutter.

The flame dancing upon the wick of a candle sitting idly nearby, flickered and wavered for a moment. Shadows that were cast upon the wall seemed to ripple in motion, whether real or imagined. Everything in the manor was silent – even in the room. There was quiet and then a hissing whisper... A resounding thud that seemed to go unnoticed, and at last there was silence again.

—

Birds were chirping animatedly outside when he roused in the morning. The heavy sound of Claude's shoes echoing through the room soon drowned them out. Almost as soon as the golden-eyed butler entered, he pulled the curtains open and the amber light flooded inside the grandiosely decorated interior. It also found its way to his eyes, sleeping past his closed eyelids – blinding as it was.

Alois groaned as he curled up beneath his blanket, his arms outstretching to grab at a warm body that wasn't there. Why wasn't she there? He blinked away his own sleepiness and blearily surveyed the empty spot beside him. Perhaps it was his own delusion that the mattress seemed to have a vague outline where she had once occupied. It unnerved him just to look at it, just to think about it, and so he rolled over.

"It's morning, your highness." Claude's smooth voice chimed out from above as he slowly peeled back the blanket from his master. "This morning I have prepared you..." The butler continued to recite the name of some famous tea from a land farther away than Alois cared to think about. Regardless of where it came from, its freshness or its quality, the tea tasted bland as he took a sip of the steaming liquid. For the first time since Claude had become his butler, he also didn't see fit to cause unnecessary trouble when being dressed. Usually he would give Claude a hard time, just to amuse himself and yet this particular morning he felt drained of any desire to do so.

Time seemed to pass by as slowly as the grains pouring down in an hour glass. The entire manor seemed unnecessarily quiet, unnecessarily lonely. Sitting at the breakfast table with the triplets and Claude standing nearby, just watching him – somehow, it made him lose his appetite. While he usually took the opportunity to play with his food, he didn't feel like it. Something was off, and while he knew what that something was, he didn't want to confront it.

So he lifted the silver fork into his hand and stabbed at the yolk of his egg. His eyes, blue as the sky outside, remained fixated on the bleeding yellow color that slowly crawled to all corners of the plate. Like a disease it contaminated the bacon and the bread, staining it with the hideous color that so resembled the sun.

A thought wondered across his mind. Would Remy's blood look the same? If he stabbed her, would it crawl across the ground until it could go no further and stain everything in its path? A deranged smile formed on his lips.

Breakfast finished with Alois's plate just as full as when it had started. None of the servants commented on it, least of all Claude. The black-haired butler seemed far more concerned with the pressing matter of Phantomhive's imminent arrival; Ciel would inevitably accept the challenge that Trancy offered him. Preparing for that time was would occupy the rest of the day.

But before Claude set off to his task of cleaning every inch of the manor, Alois finally spoke. "Remy hasn't come out of her room?" The curiosity had been gnawing at him all night. The first night in which he'd had nightmares about _her_ instead of his brother.

"No, your highness."

Alois did not reveal whether this piece of information disconcerted him or not. He remained smiling blithely as he issued his butler with a new command, "Set a tray of food in front of her door but don't bother her. She'll come out when she gets hungry." Maybe he was just trying to convince himself by saying that.

"Yes, your highness."

The rest of the day was spent "business as usual." Alois toiled in his study, bored out of his mind and itching for something to preoccupy his thoughts, tangled in turmoil and doubt. The more he dawdled around, peering through old tomes of which he could barely discern any of the written text, the more his thoughts seemed to wander. And as they wandered, inevitably, they came back to Remy. He would try to distract himself – pester Claude or bother the triplets – but they were far too used to his antics. Only one person ever suffered through and give him adequate amusement – and this very thought seemed to circle right back around to Remy again.

Frustrated by his own inability to _not_ think of her, and too stubborn and prideful to peer behind that closed door of hers, (that he'd walked by several times, _coincidentally,_ just to see if she would be coming out) he found consolation in only one thing. Though everyone else was busy tending to the matters at hand, for the arrival _of_ his rival, there was one whose task had merely been to "stay out of sight," as she had been commanded.

Hannah.

—

Amongst the smell of hay and horses stood the young, dark-skinned woman who tended to the creatures diligently, her chin always dipped down as though her gaze was glued to the ground. Even upon the sound of his approach, she did not seem to hear him. As Alois paused in the doorway, eyeing her with a look of insatiable cruelty, he waited. Arms crossed, he tapped his foot – malicious smile spread across his lips – and perhaps he was wondering if she would ever turn to face him.

Her shoulders seemed to stiffen as she glanced, reluctantly back. Her eye was shaded by tendrils of silvery-white hair hanging in front of her face. "Master?" she questioned meekly. The way she asked was as though she expected him to hit her. (Not that it was unusual for him to do so.)

But although he had been in an incredibly bad mood, seeing Hannah suddenly made him feel better. (Perhaps because watching someone else suffer relieved him of what ever suffering – real or imagined – he was experiencing.) "Remy was seeking you the other day." The words came out before he could think about them, and once he did, he probably regretted it. He probably questioned, inwardly, why she always seemed to pop up. In his thoughts, in conversation, there was no way he could escape her.

Hannah seemed to notice her master suddenly frowning and she cowered. Her lips were quivering noticeably, as though she had something to say. Whatever she was going to blubber about in response, perhaps reassuring him that she was obeying her orders just as strictly as he had issued them, Alois did not feel inclined to listen. Out of nowhere, he found himself wishing he hadn't made the trek all the way out here to the stables.

Then came the thought, curled around his feelings of frustration like the snake of temptation, that he could relieve all the anger and bitterness he felt on Hannah. A punch, a kick, a slap – whatever method he used didn't matter. She would utter no complaint and her cries would just elicit more of his cruelty. But just as he reeled his fist back, ready to send it flying at her, he found himself frozen in place.

An image crossed his mind – the desperate look Remy had given him after he'd gouged Hannah's eye. As much as the image calmed him, it simultaneously flared his anger, and in a huff he turned on his heel and left. In his wake was a baffled maid, staring after him with her brows furrowed and her jaw trembling. But maybe she felt some manner of relief, even as she wondered if he knew.

The entire way back to the manner was a blur of color swirling and coalescing around him. Everything just seemed to spin as he stomped, fists clenched at his side. Something was pounding his head, like a throbbing ache that refused to subside. The more he tried to avoid thinking about Remy, about the guilt that flared in his chest, and the boiling anger, the more it consumed him.

He was itching for any excuse to bust through those closed doors at her and demand an explanation. Ironic, it seemed, when he offered her no explanation for his own actions. But he justified his, in his mind, and these justifications somehow validated his excuses while invalidating whatever ones she might come up with.

As though to spite himself, he purposely avoided passing by Remy's door on the way back up to his study. And when he plopped down into his chair, unnecessarily hard, he swung his arms outward, shoving every object off the surface of his desk. They clattered against the floor. Even the usual destructive tendencies that garnered him attention from Claude were useless. The butler casually walked in and cleaned up the mess, as though prepared for it. But he spoke not a word and gave no indication of concern.

Of course he wasn't concerned – preposterous to think he would be. But in Alois's frustration, and the overwhelming loneliness that he felt, perhaps he had hoped for some significant recognition. There was none. Only in Remy could his need be satiated, not that he would admit it. He clenched his jaw as he rested his head against the desk, encircled by his arms.

And while he sat there, in the silence that soon accompanied him once Claude left, all he could hear was an ever faint but continuous noise. Curious, he lifted his gaze to the clock which was ticking away the time ceaselessly. It was just past noon, and as he suspected, Remy had yet to leave her room. Since the time for lunch had already concluded (and he had skipped it), this gave him the perfect excuse. Finally.

—

**Knock, knock.**

"Remy."

There was no answer. Why was she ignoring him? He gritted his teeth. It was already afternoon and she hadn't stepped out of the room for over twenty-four hours. Alois had specifically instructed Claude not to impede her if she tried to leave. Was she just going to hole herself up in there and ignore him? He was the one who had been betrayed – he was the one willing to give up revenge just so...

"I command you to answer me."

**Knock, knock.**

It wasn't like her to ignore a command. It also wasn't like him to bother knocking. Maybe he did feel a little guilty, despite how he tried to place it all on her shoulders. That thought gave him pause, right as he was about to rap his fist against the door again. Alois hesitated. What if she really was angry?

He swallowed on that thought, then suddenly he smirked. "How disgusting – pouting like a child?" Goading her never worked in the past, but maybe it would elicit some kind of response from her. Alois just wanted her to _say_ something. He couldn't stand her silence.

There, of course, was no response.

**Knock, knock!**

This time he slammed his fist against the door more forcefully. "It's not like I... purposefully asked Claude to investigate you. I said I didn't care! You were the one who betrayed me – tried to betray me. It's not like I trusted you. I never trusted you!" The anger flared in his chest but quickly ebbed away as he was greeted with no words of argument. She wouldn't even get pissed at him back.

Then he started panicking – what if she had escaped? Had she somehow sneaked out when Claude wasn't paying attention? Horror-struck, he balanced the food tray he'd brought for her in one hand and wrenched the door open with the other. It swung inward creakily and the moment it gave way, he stomped inside. Almost immediately he spotted Remy's crumpled form on the ground, her back facing him.

He first felt relief that she was still there, then amusement that she had somehow managed to fall asleep laying so awkwardly on the floor. Smirking to himself, he knelt down and set the tray on the floor before crawling over beside her. "Remy," he whispered softly in that mischievous voice of his. She had to be awfully tired to sleep through all the racket of him pounding on the door. Maybe he could shock her awake and see one of those delightful expressions. No – maybe he would wake her by kissing her. That always flustered her.

Alois crawled around to where her face was, her neck craned to the side. But the moment he caught sight of her eyes, he paused. Suddenly the expression on his face fell away. "Remy?" There was a tremor in his voice. She was just sleeping, right? Somehow, with her eyes wide open, she was just sleeping... Right?

His trembling hand wandered over to her face and as his fingertips brushed her cheek, he noticed it was deathly cold and pale as a sheet. The crimson color of her hair contrasted with her skin; it made the tendrils hanging against her forehead look like blood. Alois breathed in sharply as he hesitantly trailed his hand down toward her chin. His palm hovered over her slightly parted lips.

Remy wasn't breathing. Why wasn't she breathing?

Suddenly he felt as though he couldn't breathe either. It was caught up at the back of his throat in a lump that he struggled to swallow. Alois's fingers felt strangely numb as he started to stroke her cheek. So frigid, like the snow in winter – cold, but not the cold he remembered when they had been outside together, not like when the night's air had caressed every inch of her face, leaving her cheeks rosy. Now everything about her was so pale, so colorless.

"Re...my...?" his voice came out cracked as he called her name. Alois expected her to answer. She was supposed to answer. Why weren't her lips moving? Didn't she hear him? Why was she suddenly being so disobedient? Remy always did what he told her to, even if it was against her will. Everything felt surreal. He was somehow convinced that it had to be a nightmare. But why couldn't he wake up?

Those eyes of hers – _both_ of them – were staring back at him. They were vacant; glazed over and unfocused, as though they saw nothing. His image was not reflected by her. It looked just like... Just like when Luka was... When he had...

"Your highness," a familiar voice drawled from behind him. Claude was standing at the doorway.

Alois jerked his head in acknowledgment. He couldn't bear to look back at his butler. A sudden wave of emotion had crashed onto him. It was overwhelming to feel so much all at once. His thoughts became jumbled in his head and he didn't dare try to separate them or understand what was happening. He was completely detached from his surroundings, despondent to everything.

"Remy is dead." Claude confirmed it somehow, but he was nowhere near her body. Maybe he didn't need to be. Perhaps he could sense it, or perhaps he could see the truth written plain as day on his master's face. "Would you like me to make necessary funeral arrangements?" Those words were cold and callous as always, uncaring and direct.

Funeral? Alois's lips trembled at the very mention of the word. "N-no," he breathed out in a stuttered gasp. "Get out of my sight!"

The golden-eyed butler seemed unsurprised at how his master lashed out. Instead he adjusted his glasses before bowing politely and promptly leaving, closing the door softly behind him. Alois could hear the loud pounding of Claude's footsteps until they eventually faded off into the distance.

Left alone to the silence, with sunlight pouring in from the window across her body, he found he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They poured over the edges of his tear ducts and glided slowly down his cheeks. The trail they left behind burned against his skin as they came to a point on his chin and eventually splattered against Remy's face. He hurriedly wiped them away.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as his vision clouded with tears. Using what little strength he had, he managed to roll her over onto her back. Every limb dangled limply, almost helplessly, as her head lulled with the movement. She was like a doll. For once, he didn't appreciate the comparison.

Slowly he leaned his head down and placed it against her chest. There was no heartbeat. He couldn't hear her breathe. There was only silence accompanied by the faint sound of his own sniffling. Several minutes passed by as he cried against her shirt. "I commanded you... To always stay with me... I told you I needed you..." Why hadn't she listened to him? Why did she have to disobey his commands?

After losing Luka all he had was Claude. Remy had been the only other person to tolerate him and his nature. Through everything she had been silently accepting. She'd humored him through his antics without complaint even as they got out of hand. That was enough for him. That was all he needed. It didn't matter what her original intentions were. The important thing was that she wasn't supposed to die; she wasn't _allowed_ to die and leave him. No, if he had wanted her to die he would have done it with his own hands.

He lifted his head and gazed down at her. The spot on her cheek glistened from where his tears had fallen before, her lips were slightly parted and somewhat chapped. Even they seemed to have lost their lively color. He brushed his fingers against them – they were rough and cold. Not like he remembered them. Not at all.

Alois leaned down toward her face, hovering just a few inches away. She wasn't blushing at him like she usually did when he got this close. There was no reaction. He closed the distance until their lips met, and it wasn't like the kisses he remembered before. How her cheeks had heated up, how she averted her eyes, how she admonished him for doing inappropriate things. No more words would come from these lips.

The tears were racing down so quickly that he couldn't stop them anymore. No longer could he will them to stop. The pain was so overwhelming that all he could do was remain in this position, hunched over her body with their lips pressed together.

What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to move. He never wanted to move. But the words she had spoken rang in his mind.

_"If you die... I will remember you."_

Yes, those words. That was how things were supposed to happen. She had come all this way for her revenge and she was supposed to have it. Alois was going to die and in the midst of it all she was going to avenge her brother and father by killing Claude. It was the perfect plan she had come up with.

Then, before she died, she was supposed to remember him. To live long enough to see him die. It was _not_ supposed to be the other way around.

_"It's not possible... Surely it's not possible, but... You don't love me, do you?"_

At the very least she should have stayed alive long enough to have heard the answer to the question she had asked him. He had spent so long thinking about it, after all. What nerve did she have, as a servant, to make her master lose sleep over a preposterous thing – a feeling like love – for a subordinate?

Just as another wave of tears was about to come pouring down his cheeks, Alois paused. A sudden thought crossed his mind. There was no blood and perhaps it was in his shock and surprise that he hadn't stopped to think, but... Why was Remy dead? He looked up at her face. She very clearly had both eyes, and he had noticed the one eye healing before when he had looked at it, just as Claude had warned him, but the contract... The stipulations of the contract clearly defined that only if she helped with Ciel-

Wait. Did she lie to him? Alois's jaw clenched. There was no other reason for her to be dead. No other possibility could occur to him except for Hannah – that was the only explanation, at least the only one he would accept.

But he hated Remy for it. Hated her for betraying him, hated her for lying to him, hated her for leaving him. That feeling was like acid that corroded the inside of his heart until there was nothing left in his mind but thoughts of her. Anything concerning revenge against Ciel was swept away by his despair.

Using what little strength he had, he slipped his arms beneath her. Although he struggled to lift what was nothing short of dead weight, he managed to haul her over to the bed, where he precariously dumped her body onto the mattress. She nearly rolled off again, and he had to scrambled to push her back on – onto her back again. Then he straddled her before crawling onto the other side of the bed.

Beneath the dimming sunlight that peered in from the window beside them, he curled up to Remy's body, nuzzled against her lifeless chest and draped his arms around her. If he paused to dwell on her absence, he would feel alone. To just lay with her was barely enough to keep his sanity. Alois reached down for her hand, cold and unresponsive, and he entwined his fingers with hers. And he soon fell asleep, the tears still rolling down his cheeks as he clung to the shell of a person he desperately needed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone grabs their torch and/or pitchfork, this is not the end of the story! But I am curious if I nailed the depressing part well enough. Sorry for the late update, I have been swamped with homework and hope you enjoy because it may be another month before I update again. Another apology for grammatical/spelling mistakes, I wanted to get this out.

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. :) Hapi - Thanks for the feedback! I agree on the critique part; Masquerade doesn't have a particularly exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, must-turn-the-page kind of feeling to it. Hopefully I can improve on that in future stories, though. I am glad you have enjoyed the story thus far and hope to hear more of your thoughts as it progresses and comes to a close. ^^


	15. Means to an End

A blur of colors whipped around him and – after his eyes took a few moments to adjust – he recognized it as the horizon. It was colored like a canvas in pastel colors with such glimmering beauty and a majesty he almost did not recognize. He questioned inwardly when the last time was that he had laid his eyes upon such a scene. It robbed the breath right from his lungs.

And while he was preoccupied with the sight, he barely registered the feeling of his fingers – with _both_ hands – entangled with someone else's. Differing in warmth and the power of the grip, the one on his left felt calloused and yet delicate, while the one on his right was small like a child's and smooth. Curious, he glanced to one side and then the other. The calloused hand belonged to a fiery-haired girl who greeted him with a slight nod. "Remy," he spoke her name breathlessly before glancing over at the owner of the other hand, "Luka."

There was a small smile on his little brother's lips as he pointed toward the sky with his free hand. "Look there," he told his brother in a soft whisper.

For this moment in time, Alois wondered if he could stay here forever. Where the stars were still barely visible in the sky, where darkness was receding to give way to the brimming light. The sun rose like a gallant stallion that would parade across the sky with all of its glory and its mane of fire.

He tightened his grip on the two hands he was holding and his heart felt at ease. "The three of us," Alois said, in a voice that sounded so unlike him, "Can we stay like this?" So full of hope, he spoke the question with desperation – hoping, praying that he could freeze this moment in time – to stay forever, to never say goodbye.

Feelings that were almost foreign, like the sweet caress of love, enveloped him as he stood there. On nothing less than a dimly grassed ledge, a cliff that resembled the precipice of change that he lingered on. His question hung in the air, and yet another had popped into his mind. Should he stay or take the inevitable leap and hope that there were wings that would sprout out of his back?

The euphoria that encircled him, that lifted him up on a high he had never felt before, was suddenly yanked away from him as he lost his grip on Luka. A shrill scream deafened him as the red-haired boy suddenly took a plummet off of the cliff. There was a pain-stricken look on Luka's face as he stared wide-eyed at Alois before taking the plunge.

Desperate to try to rescue his brother, the blonde-haired noble attempted to jerk forward and reach for Luka's hand, but something pulled him back. Remy was clinging to him, in a way that was unlike her. "You can't save him." A voice that did not sound like her – it was almost demonic – but he knew better. It was his conscience, lamenting the guilt he felt at losing his only remaining family.

"I know," he said, choking back tears that had not fallen since that fateful day. Strangely, he felt like a little boy again. Helpless and alone as he sobbed and collapsed onto his knees, furiously rubbing the salty liquid away, as though ashamed of the fact that he could not stop crying.

"And you can't save me."

Sniffling, he paused as he heard her say this. Before he could question what Remy meant, she had already let go of his hand. She, too, was falling backwards with a look on her face that mirrored Luka's – but this time there was a sadness in her eyes that Alois almost could not recognize. And although the guilt was substantially worse than it was when he watched his brother go, he did not try to reach out to stop Remy. He could not. His whole body was frozen stiff – couldn't move an inch.

"You could have saved me." Her voice echoed through the chasm below, clear and crisp. This time it _did_ sound like her.

Horrified, he clamped his hands over his ears, as though that would block out her words. Impossible, he knew, because this was all in his head anyways. "You lied to me. Betrayed me. Left me." Sputtering the words out, placing the blame on her, it was all he could do to try to ignore the gaping hole in his heart.

—

_"...highness."_

The vivid image of his smiling brother, head slightly tilted and eyes crinkled shut, flashed across his mind. His heart trembled. A bittersweet memory that he felt like he could reach out and touch, if he could just extend his fingers a little farther. But it would be too painful if it slipped from his grasp, he couldn't bear that.

_"Your highness."_

A new image replaced the fading one of his younger sibling; this time it was Remy. Those fiery-red locks hanging around her face, looking at him solemnly with lips stuck in a straight line. She looked so serious it was almost ridiculous. He wanted to make a jab at her, or lean in for a kiss that she would ultimately claim inappropriate with that amusingly flustered look of hers.

"...highness."

A voice that was growing louder resounded through the empty halls of his mind, and while it was familiar, it was most certainly not the two people he had envisioned. As he blinked back the sleep he had been consumed in, he saw the stoic face of his butler hovering a few feet over him.

"It is already noon," Claude announced monotonously while giving a resigned bow that displayed some manner of respect.

The lingering effects of his dream left him reeling to sort through fiction and reality. As he turned his head to the side, a wave of relief seemed to wash over him. When he saw Remy's face, peaceful and subdued as her expression was, he found himself almost smiling... Until he noticed her eyes were wide open – both of them – and then the events from the previous day came rushing back at him.

As though he'd taken a punch to the gut, he curled in a ball and closed his eyes. Was he still dreaming? Was this some kind of sick nightmare that his mind saw fit to threaten him with? Karma for making a deal with a demon?

"I will make the funeral arrangements."

Those words took a moment to sink in, and when they did, Alois reluctantly opened his eyes again. He paused as his mind wandered, and then out of nowhere a question seemed to sprout. "Claude," the earl called his butler's name abruptly.

Standing statuesque as always, the butler gave a stiff nod. "Yes, your highness?"

"You made a deal with Remy's father?"

Silence greeted the question at first. Claude seemed to contemplate it for a moment, as though weighing the repercussions of answering the question truthfully. "No," he said finally, clarifying, "I made a contract." But he stopped there, volunteering no more information willingly.

So Alois asked for it instead. "Specifically, what happened?"

Those golden eyes narrowed slightly, almost in annoyance, but if that's what Claude was feeling, he didn't say it. He obediently answered his master's question, whether truthfully or not. "Remy's older brother was a toy to the former Earl of Trancy. Her father contracted me to kidnap the heir – the one you're impersonating now – to kill."

"And you did?"

Facial features unchanging, he answered, "Yes," without reserve.

"And then?" Even Alois did not seem to be bothered that his butler had murdered a young boy. At least if he was, such emotions did not register on his face. He seemed blank – unfazed by the conversation. Maybe inside of his head, he was registering it slowly, thinking about how this could have affected Remy.

"I took his soul, as agreed."

"Did Remy see you... taking it?"

There was a moment of hesitation – as though Claude was actually debating which answer he should give. But whatever he decided on inside his head, the truth or an elaborately woven tale of fiction, he at last said, "No. But _someone_ did see."

"Who?"

The questions seemed ceaseless, and yet Claude just as ceaselessly answered them. "The man's eldest and only son. The boy's name was-"

"Noah," Alois interrupted knowingly. The name had stuck in his mind like glue – annoying adhesive that he could not peel from his memory. It haunted him, for he resented it because the name came from Remy's lips when she was sleeping – Noah's name instead of Alois's.

The air, so thick with tension, could almost be cut by a knife. Alois kept his gaze glued to Remy's hand, which he had been holding the whole time. It was a strange feeling, her lifeless skin that was warm only because of his own body heat. He glanced, briefly, up at her unmoving face. Perhaps he wondered what she thought of their conversation, if she could hear it.

"Bring Hannah here," the earl spoke suddenly.

The expression on Claude's face was unchanging as he responded by changing the subject, "The Earl of Phantomhive will be arriving shortly."

Unaffected by this tidbit, Alois merely jerked his head up and shot his butler a death glare. "Are you defying me?" His voice resumed that traditional cheerfulness that was the trademark of his persona. A mocking grin surfaced on his face. "Will you refuse to do what I have commanded of you?"

"No, your highness," he answered without hesitation, bowing the whole of his upper-body with his hand firmly pressed over where his heart would be – if he had one, and he surely did not. "I will bring her here at once, as you have requested." Although Claude obediently turned on his heel, coattails fluttering behind him, Alois was sure he caught sight of a displeased frown on Claude's face. Though perhaps it was just a figment of Alois's imagination; otherwise, it was surely an unusual expression for the normally deadpan-faced butler.

Once Claude had departed to fulfill his orders, Alois was left to a room occupied by nothing but silence. Then he could hear, in the background, the ceaseless chirping of the birds that were surely fluttering about. Carefree, they were, bathed in the light of the sun and happy for another day that had come.

Alois bitterly thought that he would feel the same way, if he could wake from this nightmare. But even though he tried to pinch his arm, maybe hoping that it would somehow assure him that this was really just an elaborate work of fiction his mind had conjured to torture him, he was not numb to pain. It was all real.

Slowly, he sat up – head throbbing from all the thinking, eyes burning from all the tears he had shed – and he reached out a hand toward Remy's face. Almost affectionately, lovingly even, he stroked her cheek. A sweet caress that he could not remember giving to her when her skin was flushed and lively. Now her skin was pale and cold. His reach lifted up to her eyes, where he gently pushed her eyelids closed. When they stared at him like that, vacant and glassy, he felt like they were condemning him. (And, maybe, they were.)

When her eyes were closed, she looked more peaceful, tranquil and at rest. But no matter how happy she looked, the hunger – the desire he had for her, it would not be satiated. Not until he had her in his grasp again.

Enraptured in his thoughts, Alois did not recognize the sound of heels clicking against the floor. Not until he saw a blur of color as the silver-haired maid at last came to a stop just in front of the bed. Respectfully, she had her head bowed and her hands crossed in front of her. Lingering by the door frame was the ever-somber Claude.

"As you requested, your highness." He bowed. "I will excuse myself to finish preparations for Earl Phantomhive's arrival." The golden-eyed butler narrowed his eyes at Hannah and turned slowly before walking away.

Hannah did not return his gaze and instead shirked away from the look she had received from Claude. "Y-you called me, Master?" She sounded terrified, like a frightened deer. It was almost amusing to liken her to a forest animal.

But Alois did not even manage a smile. His eyes were empty as he rose them, languidly, and gazed into her face. "You took Remy from me." There was supposed to be hate in his voice, bitterness that seeped through like acid... But there wasn't, only sadness and despair.

Although she might have had the expectation, before she entered the room, that he would hit her, Hannah knew now by the way her master was behaving – he did not have the strength to lift a hand toward her. He seemed strangely drained of the usual maliciousness he carried. "Master, the reason you called me here..."

"She is inside of you, isn't she?" He did not wait for an answer. Alois crawled off Remy's body – the empty shell, the husk – and he climbed off the side of the bed. Then he beckoned Hannah closer, and when she obediently approached, he met her with two arms outstretched wide. It was an awkward embrace that left his head pressed against her chest. "Can she hear me?"

Startled by her master's actions, though nonetheless receptive, Hannah returned the embrace. Her actions belied the downcast expression on her face as her lips formed into a small frown. "I-I am sorry... I was ordered not to-"

"I want her back."

Hannah's lips remained parted, as though some words lingered in the back of her throat, itching to be given a voice. But she did not speak further; her jaw snapped shut and she just stared down somewhat sorrowfully at her master. Whatever she would like to say, perhaps to console him, she could not.

Then his grip gradually began to tighten until Hannah winced at the pain. "Ciel is coming here..." his voice trailed off into a whisper. "That's good. Claude said he was setting up a chess board. You'll be my pawn." He smiled up at her sinisterly, still maintaining his vice grip.

What was unsettling was that he suddenly managed to flip his personality, like a coin – front to back. At one moment he was empty and lonely, and in a split second he had returned to his usual malicious ways. Perhaps it was too much to think that Remy's death would affect him. But if Hannah had even thought that for a moment, she would have been wrong, as Alois immediately proved when he next spoke.

"You can escort Remy outside. She can sit beside me and watch. I'll let her see you get crushed by Sebastian. Then Claude can kill Ciel and my revenge will be complete." A maniacal grin surfaced on his face as he chuckled darkly to himself, casting one last glance back at Remy before he started floating toward the door. The way he walked was as though he was still unsteady upon his feet. Even Hannah could tell that, despite the facade, he still couldn't think straight. But before he was out of sight, he stopped and turned his gaze toward her.

Those eyes of his were at once as powerless as they were tyrannical and full of maliciousness. It was a mix that sent a tremor through Hannah's body as she jerked her chin to look away. "Master?" she squeaked questioningly in a voice that reflected her demure nature.

"Dress her in silk – the finest – make sure she looks as pretty as a doll." That last word tasted a bit bitter as it rolled off his tongue, and yet as he mechanically turned around and marched down the hall, Alois could not figure out why. Everything seemed a blur – the time they had spent together, short and sour as that of a green apple – if he tried he could just tune it out. As long as he could pretend not to think about it, he could keep walking with that chin of his held high as fitting for an earl.

Each step he took was heavier than the last, and the echo resounded in the depths of his hollow heart. He focused his gaze ahead – the not-so-distant future that he could barely see. Alois just kept telling himself that he had to keep his mind on his goal; a goal he had been so willing to abandon for-

No. He would not let her image seep into his thoughts again, poison his mind so that he could not carry out the revenge he had always intended to achieve. If Remy was gone there was nothing standing in his way... Or so he convinced himself. More likely, without her he had nothing to live for. Perhaps all that kept him from just staying there beside her corpse, rotting away while clinging to her, was that Alois knew he had one last obligation to fulfill. If all the people he needed were cast away by his own selfishness, then he would utilize that selfishness to avenge them all...

Let Hannah die to Sebastian for taking Remy. Let Ciel die to make Sebastian suffer for taking Luka. Let Sebastian avenge his "master" by taking Alois from Claude. Let Alois's own loss of life be Remy's revenge against Claude. Such a vicious cycle of hatred and vengeance that he was content to end by bathing every inch of his own manor in the blood of all those who had been tangled up in it.

There was no hesitation left to course through his veins and impede his efforts. Alois clambered up the stairs purposefully. He felt strangely invigorated, like this purpose he had decided upon suddenly had a higher meaning than just being his life's ambition. By utilizing his own life, he would become the means to an end – an end of everything that had ever been important.

—

It was barely afternoon when the clomping of horse shoes echoed loudly up the dirt-beaten road that led up to the Trancy Estate. A nobleman's carriage eventually rolled to a stop just short of the entrance where an entourage was already waiting to greet the newcomer. While his butler held the door open for him, Ciel Phantomhive stepped out into the brilliantly gleaming rays of the sun. It was almost blinding, although he did not stop to shield his eyes. Rather, like a member of the stubborn nobility, he stared down the sun as though the sun should be the one to look away.

Perhaps it was this air of grace that lingered about Ciel that left Alois with a bitter taste in his mouth. Yet he nonetheless managed his usual cheerful facade, although it lacked his usual convincing acting abilities – not that Ciel was ever fooled. "Ciel! You came!"

There was a noticeable glare that the other nobleman returned to Alois. "Alois Trancy," he acknowledged with a heavy tone.

Politely, Claude took a half-bow at the torso, hands folded in at his sides. "It was very good of you to come, my lord." Maybe he was as anxious for the duel as Alois – maybe he was impatiently hoping for this charade to come to a close so he could feast. It seemed like something a demon would think. Regardless, the golden-eyed butler briefly exchanged a glance with the one standing across from him. Sebastian gave a small, unnoticeable nod in return.

Once (in)formal greetings had been addressed, the company converged as Alois escorted Ciel to their newly prepared dueling arena. It appeared as an old chess board, apparently used back in the "old days." But it was this place would at last be the scene of their finally battle... Yet it felt so anticlimactic.

After establishing that the butlers would duel in place of the two young nobles, Alois led Ciel up to their stage – where he had seats set up so that they would have the pleasure of viewing the battle unfolding before them from a majestic height. While the blue-haired Phantomhive settled down in his grandiose chair with more than adequate cushioning, he noticed the figure of a familiar person seated beside Alois.

There was a curtain of fiery red tresses hiding away the person's face – who he assumed to be a girl, given the elegant dress wear she had on. She seemed to be slumped over to the side, sitting awkwardly. When Alois took his seat, however, he reached over to the girl and pulled the weight of her body toward him until she appeared to be resting her head on his shoulder. When Alois seemed to catch Ciel peering over with curiosity and suspicion, he returned the look with a devilish grin.

And while Ciel could not be sure of the identity of the girl, whose face he could not even see, he distinctly remembered that hair. It had been that boy's – Luka, if he remembered right – that had held a knife against his neck. Surely not, though, because Ciel _knew_ that person was a boy and this was most certainly a girl. Irregardless of his curiosity, the more pressing matter was the unfolding duel.

The triplets, employed by Claude as a preliminary fighting unit, were quickly incapacitated by Sebastian's superior abilities. Once they were dispatched, Hannah made her move, utilizing hand guns as well as a machine gun in hopes of downing her opponent quickly. Another futile attempt, much to Alois's amusement. He seemed to be giggling – at least, that's what Ciel assumed that cackling noise was.

Before Hannah could be pierced by the array of cutlery that Sebastian had brought along with him as weapons, Claude stepped in by pushing one of the chess pieces in the way. Alois seemed mildly disappointed that the fight had ended so early, regardless of the fact that it was "tea time," as Claude called it.

Although it turned, more or less, into a battle of egg sculpting between the two butlers that proved to be anything but amusing to Ciel. He breathed a sigh of exasperation as he watched. And while he expected to hear Alois's chortling laughter, there was no sign that the Trancy Earl found the scene entertaining.

Instead, the blonde-haired boy seemed to be staring down with an unmoving, unreadable expression, lips set in a grim curl. But the moment Alois caught Ciel peering over, he flashed that maniacal grin of his.

Once the deserts and the tea had been finished, however, Ciel found himself seated at a long table dressed in a fine white cloth. While he sat on one end, Alois was seated at the other. Hannah, who had been pried from the silverware that had bound her to the ground, carried the small girl who had been sitting beside Alois earlier.

Although his pride kept him from asking, the curiosity left Ciel with a nagging wonder. Those pale arms of the girl seemed to swing around almost lifelessly, and he started to think that perhaps she wasn't a person at all. Maybe she was a doll. Such an obsession wouldn't be entirely odd for someone like Alois Trancy.

But it begged the question: why?

"That girl," Ciel spoke suddenly, pointing in her direction with his fork as he narrowed his eyes. "Who is she?"

The smirk on Alois's face widened as he tilted his head to the side. "How clever, acting like you don't know, Ciel Phantomhive. You danced with her at the ball, didn't you?" Then, suddenly, he stood up. The chair screeched in resistance. Once Alois was on his feet, he leaned over to the chair where the girl had been seated, slumped to the side with bangs hanging in her eyes. He pulled the loose tendrils aside to reveal her face. "Do you think she's beautiful? Like a doll?" And those gleaming blue eyes looked questioning up at Ciel.

Somehow the fork managed to slip through his fingertips as Ciel looked in abject horror. But he quickly recovered from the unexpected sight and cocked his head back, regal as a nobleman should be. "That isn't a doll. What are you playing at, Trancy?"

"She appears to be dead, Master," Sebastian relayed in a hushed whisper as he leaned down toward Ciel, hand folded back to cover his mouth so that the other party could not read his lips.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Holy cow! Thanks for all the reviews guys, I was overwhelmed with happiness to see how many people left feedback for last chapter. I appreciate it so, so much. When I started I never even dreamed I'd see anywhere close to 100 reviews. So I wanted to get this chapter out sooner as a thank you, even though it is shorter than last chapter. My computer has been messing up so I have to take it into the shop tomorrow so I won't be able to write for a bit, but shouldn't take too long before it's up and running like it should be again.

Since Masquerade is coming to a close (last chapter should be chapter 17 or 18, depending) I opened up a poll on my profile. Just seeing what other people think - who should the next love interest be for my next story? Claude, Sebastian or Ciel? You can vote in the poll or review and let me know what you think. (I'm not guaranteeing anything but I'm just seeing what the consensus is.) :) I appreciate your opinions!


	16. Fading to Black

It felt like something in his side had collapsed inward, crushing painfully against his organs. He gasped for breath, straining at the pain that hit him like a ten foot wave. It felt more like a brick wall. Gut-wrenching and agonizing as he writhed in his agony, grasping at the bandages wrapped around his abdomen where Ciel had inflicted the wound. It was warm with blood. Apparently it had reopened.

"Master," Hannah cooed from behind him in a worried voice.

He struggled in the sheets, the silk feeling strangely uncomfortable against his bare skin. Never before had the pain of living seemed so real to him that he had to grit his teeth to keep from crying. And his mind raced – where was Remy? After he collapsed earlier, blood pouring past his lips while Claude stared stonily down at him, he could remember nothing. Had something happened to her? Surely Ciel and Sebastian had not confiscated her body? Claude didn't bury her without approval, did he?

Swallowing was comparable to climbing a mountain, because the lump in his throat impeded the effort. He groaned as he turned toward the anxious maid. "Remy," he rasped, "Where is Remy?" It was nearly all the effort he could expend to ask that one question without collapsing into unconsciousness again.

"D-During your duel... You left her outside... So I-I took her back to her room..." Hannah's gaze was glued to the floor as she stuttered out her response, clenching the unraveled bandages tightly in her hands. "Please, Master, allow to change your-"

And in the blink of an eye, he had managed to rip the bandage from her hand, wrap it around her neck, and was nearly strangling her. Somehow the flash of anger had given him more strength than he thought he had left. "You're useless," Alois hissed, "Bring her here... And Claude... I need Claude."

"Yes, Master," the maid choked out. Once he released her, she hurried out the door. In just a moment later, before Alois had much time to allow his thoughts to wander, Claude entered. The golden-eyed butler strode across the floor purposely, heels clicking with each step.

Although it was a struggle, Alois managed to sit up, pressing his hand against the wound. He was panting from over exertion and yet he forcefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Claude," he spoke out in a gasping breath. He stared up hazily at his butler – the one person he had left, the only one that had yet to abandon him. A smile tugged at the edge of his lips.

But the way Claude seemed to stare off left him feeling empty. The butler had always been aloof and yet, somehow, Alois had a feeling there was more to it this time. The demon wasn't even fixated on the stitching of the wound, the aroma of blood that his nose was surely trained on. He didn't look hungry – ready to feast like he usually did. It was as though, while looking at Alois, he saw nothing but _trash_.

There were words, a question perhaps, lingering in the back of Alois's throat. It burned to be spoken and yet he held his tongue. A rare occasion because Alois Trancy was not one to mind what came out of his mouth. Crude and foul as he could be called by those who he showed his true self to, and yet he restrained himself in front of Claude. Strange, bizarre, abnormal – those were the words that came to mind when he considered his own hesitance. But then, who asks a question when they already know the answer?

And the moment he asked himself that, he came upon a sort of realization.

_"You don't love me, do you?"_

That question that stuck with him, like a bitter pill he swallowed every time; it reminded him that she was dead and that he had never answered. But, more importantly than that, he wondered if she already knew the answer. If, despite asking, she was already sure that he did not love her. Maybe she thought he did. Alois lamented on the fact that he would never know, and he closed his eyes.

Claude finished wrapping the wound without an exchange of words. He merely bowed and then left, as though he had never been there at all. And that is what it felt like to Alois – an overwhelming, all-encompassing emptiness. He was alone. Slowly, he leaned back against his pillow, only to lay there in silence.

The door cracked open but it did not garner his attention. Alois was too wrapped up in his thoughts. But when the mattress creased beside him, his eyes fluttered open. Right in front of his face was hers, smooth and flawless as a porcelain doll's. He outstretched his fingers and brushed her cheeks, a caress that seemed almost affectionate.

"Remy," he called out her name, but there was still no answer.

It was gradually becoming dark outside, the sun ducking behind the horizon. Light was rapidly depleting inside of the room, and before she left, Hannah quickly lit the candles to keep her master protected from the terrors of the night. Alois, on the other hand, was too preoccupied with his own inner turmoil to pay heed to the darkness outside. He felt it on the inside, closing in around him, suffocating him.

The door closed with a gentle thud and he listened intently as Hannah's footsteps disappeared down the hallway. In a strange way, he found himself wishing she hadn't left. Somewhere inside of her, there was Remy. He wanted that part – needed that part of Remy that Hannah held.

He gritted his teeth, jaw clenched as he stared at Remy's face. She said she would remember him when she died. Now she was the one dead, and he did not want to have to be the one left behind to remember her. That left only one choice.

"I won't let you go," he whispered. There was no longer any strain in his voice, his body numbed by adrenaline. So, without being able to feel the pain, he struggled out of bed and dressed himself – clumsily, at that. The bow, after he tied it, looked crooked and childish. Even in his ideal for perfection, he dared not venture to ask Claude to fix it. He didn't want Claude to know about this – to interrupt this. Since Alois's plan for vengeance had not yet been carried out, he had a new plan. The wound would take too long to heal and he was not known to exercise patience. "So this is the only way." And he smiled to his reflection in the mirror.

—

The sound of the horses' hoof beats were like drums of war, pounding in his ears. It provided little distraction for the mind numbing pain as the carriage rocked unevenly while Hannah directed it down the road. It felt like the wound on his abdomen was splitting open again, as though the stitches were slowly tearing through his skin. All that could take his mind off of that was Remy, sitting across from him with her body leaning to the side. Every time the carriage rocked, her head lulled about.

"You look pitiful," he told her, in what was supposed to be a jab but sounded more like bitterness. Blearily, he stared out the window of the carriage as the forest passed them by. The night was haunting and the darkness surrounded him with only a little light from the moon. There were no candles. For the first time, he did not need any.

His mind drifted from Remy to Luka, wound up like a chain-bound prisoner. As much as Alois tried to disconnect himself from the past, he found himself clinging to it as much as it was clinging to him. He could not let go – _would_ not let go. Somehow he wished that they could be together. For all the money and power he had as an heir of Trancy, how much had he been forced to sacrifice in return? Was it not enough to be deserving of some "happiness"? Did he have to be alone?

The tears rolled down his cheeks without him noticing, leaving a hot, burning trail behind. The liquid oozed in past his lips and the salty taste finally made him blink back to reality. He swallowed hard and looked down at his wound. The blood was seeping through his undershirt and now his jacket, too. It felt warm against the the palm of his hand, wiggling in between the cracks of his fingers. His eyes fluttered shut as he doubled over on the seat. It was all he could do just to keep from passing out from the pain.

While he lay there, listening intently to the sounds of the night, the wheels of the carriage spun round and round. The distance stretched endlessly and yet time quickly trickled by, which he could only be grateful for. Especially when the sun started to peer in through the window, light spilling into the carriage. It cast down upon his pale face, beads of perspiration tricking down his forehead. His breathing had grown shallow, but the bleeding seemed to have slowed at least a little.

When finally the carriage rolled to a stop, Alois felt some reprieve – they had arrived, unimpeded by interference from anyone. But then, he knew better to think that he was in the clear. Claude would no doubt have some inkling that Alois had wandered off in the night. The butler was probably lingering nearby somewhere – watching, waiting. And, Alois imagined, that if Claude knew why he had come to such a remote place, then the demon would probably have killed him on the way. At least for the moment he had been spared.

The door to the carriage cracked open and inside peered Hannah's detestable face. But in light of his condition, it had begun to look a little less hate-able.

"We have arrived, Master."

As he struggled to sit up, gritting his teeth, Alois kept a firm grasp on his side. "Leave Remy inside." He could have ordered Hannah to help him, too, but he stubbornly tried to stand himself... Only to find that he did not have the strength. So, reluctantly, he beckoned the maid inside. After a cramped fit and those sickening hands of hers grasping at his underarms to haul him onto his feet, they made it outside.

It was humid and warm already. There was dew across the grass, which stretched out endlessly upon rolling hills. The countryside was littered with various houses, ranging from merely dilapidated to a few that seemed to be completely falling apart. The shack in front of them seemed to nearly fall in the latter category, and Alois found himself questioning whether anyone lived inside.

"Help me to the door," he snarled at Hannah angrily, unable to command his legs to move for him without some prodding.

After wrapping his arm around her shoulder, she guided Alois toward the door, slightly hunched over to match his height. The two looked like an odd spectacle, especially in such a rural area of England, with forestry lining one edge of the horizon and rolling hills on the other.

When finally he had hobbled up to the front door, sitting crookedly on its hinges, he outstretched his fist. The rapping sound was initially met with silence, until a flurry of footsteps sounded and it whisked open. A mousy looking face peered out at Alois. It was a little girl with the same fiery-colored hair as Remy. A small smile worked its way up on his lips.

"You look like royalty!" she marveled.

Almost out of breath just from the short walk up toward the door, he could barely manage to rasp out the words, "Someone named Noah... lives here."

The door suddenly opened wider and the girl seemed to be yanked back into the darkness within. A new face peered out; a man with a stony gaze who glared at their uninvited guest. "What do you want?" he asked coldly. "I am Noah."

Alois noticed, with great curiosity, that unlike Remy, this person – a boy whose height towered over Alois – had brown hair and eyes. There was barely any resemblance to Remy, who was supposedly his sister. "Remy is... your sister...?"

"Who wants to know?" He glared at Alois.

Blood had started to ooze through his fingers. Try as he might to staunch the bleeding, the stitches were tearing open. Alois had strained himself too much and given the wound no time to heal. He would have doubled over, if not for Hannah's support. The maid regarded him with sympathetic eyes, which just made him want to tear her hair out. But he didn't have even strength to expend on such a useless effort. He had to have this conversation.

"What a disgusting shack," he managed to say beneath his breath, regarding the crumbling roof above. Shingles were scattered across the ground below. The house seemed to be collapsing in on itself. Alois found himself repulsed that Remy had been forced to grow up in such an unsavory place. But even worse than the shack... "And what disgusting family." The earl sneered at the man named "Noah."

As expected, the man seemed unfazed by the insults that Alois slung at him. Noah merely cocked his head to the side, looking unaffected. "You're obviously a noble. Did you come out here for something important?"

"That's right... It would be 'important' for you to know that Remy died." Alois grinned wryly.

"No," the brother corrected, "That isn't 'important,' if she went and got herself killed meaningless. I'm guessing you must be Earl Trancy's son. You wasted your time coming to tell us." Then he tried to shut the door, but Alois pressed his bloodied palm against the rotted wood.

"Wait," he demanded, "You think I just came here for that? How silly of you. I don't care enough just to come here, bleeding to death, so her family can know what happened to her. Don't be stupid – don't be arrogant! I want some answers." Alois, though panting heavily from saying that all in one breath, continued, "I want the truth... to know why. And you're going to give it to me."

"Of course. That's how the Trancy family works – how all noble families work – am I right? Because all you think about is what you want and how you can get it. Are you going to threaten me? Tell me you'll kill me? Or is it going to be my little sister you kill? Will you torture me?" There was a noticeable bitterness in Noah's voice as it escalated, until the point where he was nearly yelling at the top of his lungs. "You can do your worst, Trancy, and it will never compare to the horrors I have already been through!"

"The things that fat old codger did to you make you feel dirty, disgusting, completely unclean, right?" Alois guessed easily, inwardly denying that those were his own feelings. "That's why your father killed the real heir."

Noah grunted. "Is that what you heard? Remy told you that? Funny... She has a real talent for fooling people." His brows furrowed. "I am the one who had the pleasure – the privilege – to kill Trancy's brat."

Somehow the story wasn't quite matching up. "But your father contracted a demon."

"Wrong," the brother countered grudgingly, slamming his fist against the door frame. "Remy is the one who summoned that _thing. _My father is just the one who took the fall for her. He had the demon agree to kidnap the heir. I tried to stop the contract – because, I thought, if I killed the bastard's son, then the contract would be void. But that demon just killed our father anyway. It's all the fault of Trancy in the first place. That disgusting, lecherous 'noble house,' despicable."

Suddenly, things were starting to make a bit more sense. "So, the reason Remy approached me..."

"That's right. We heard Trancy had a new heir. So I kicked her out after our mother died. Told her when she carried your severed head back, I'd welcome her with open arms. She couldn't forget it, either, with that eye of hers."

"Eye?" Alois ventured inquisitively.

It was no use, though, because Noah seemed uninterested in discussing the matter any further. "You have as many answers as I'm willing to give, Trancy," he told Alois tersely, "So go roll over in a ditch and die for all that I care. Just don't let me see you on our doorstep again. Remy has been dead to us since she was kicked out almost a year ago. Begone."

This time, the door did slam in the face of Alois and Hannah. The sweeping motion sent a wave of air that forced him to momentarily close his eyes as it ruffled his bangs. All the warm liquid that had seeped into the cracks of his fingers had coagulated, and now felt like an adhesive that glued his hand to the wound.

"Master?" Hannah whispered questioningly. "Should we return to the estate?"

For all the answers he had been given, he still had more questions. But even Alois knew what the meaning of hopeless was. Noah was not going to offer any more answers, and the pain in Alois's side was so overwhelming and the blood loss so intense that he was about to collapse right where he was standing. So, with Hannah's assistance, he shuffled laggardly back to the carriage. Just as the maid was about to help him clamber up inside of it, he heard the door to the shack creak open. An echo of footfalls caused him to pause and peer over his shoulder.

"Mister Nobleman!" a little girl called after him. That red hair of hers flew in the wind like a mane of fire. It bobbed around her chin as she came to a sudden stop behind him. "Is my big sister really gone?" Those eyes of hers were a lighter color of blue – much like his own – opaque as the surface of a clear pond.

"Yeah, she's gone," he answered nonchalantly.

The girl gave a solemn nod. "She argued with my big brother a lot, and before she left they got into a really, really big fight. I was watching from a corner and it was super scary, 'cause my big brother hit my big sister in the back of the head with a big stone – like, this size," and she curled her small little hand into as big of a fist as she could, "and I saw lots of blood. My sister didn't wake up for a few days and that's when she had something wrong with one of her eyes."

That explained one mystery at least...

"My big sister always blamed herself because of father's death. She was always sad about it... and she felt really sorry toward my big brother." Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. "But, Mister Nobleman, my big sister said that even though she really hates the demon that took her and my big brother's daddy, she didn't want revenge."

"Didn't want revenge?" he asked with a disbelieving scoff.

"Right!" The little girl answered with a sad nod. "My big sister said that one revenge always leads to another, that it creates a 'cycle,' she called it. So even though my big brother wants you dead, I hope you won't blame him. And I hope you won't blame my big sister up in heaven. Because, I think that the reason you must be alive, Mister Nobleman, is that my big sister really didn't want revenge after all. That makes me happy, since I know that the people who love you would probably be really sad if she did get revenge!" Suddenly she was beaming despite the rivulets of tears dripping down her cheeks.

"You don't look much like Remy."

"We have different dads but we are definitely sisters, Mister Nobleman."

Since the ebbing pain in his side, Alois's breathing had become shallow. The more he stood there, perspiration trickling down his brow, the more he felt himself fading. It seemed like he had pushed himself to the limit. He wasn't sure how much blood he had lost. But he turned to gaze, sidelong, at Hannah. "Back to the carriage," he ordered her coldly.

Taking this as her cue to go, the little girl spun around to head back toward that dilapidated shack she called home. Yet, after just a few hastened steps toward it, she paused to look back over her shoulder. "I hope you get better soon, Mister Nobleman! It would be sad if you died. You seem really nice!"

The naivety of the young was laughable; Alois was kind? Even he had to chortle at the notion, but such a reaction only amplified the pain and cut his mirth short. He grabbed a fistful of Hannah's silvery hair, yanking at it just to see her wince. It acted as some sort of reprieve for him, to see someone suffering even a fragment of what he felt. But it was not enough. There was a swelling mass of anger and bitterness in his chest. He could no longer tell if it was direct toward himself or to Remy.

"M-Master," Hannah spoke in a stuttering whisper.

"What?" he snapped back as she helped him clamber up into the carriage. Alois managed to make it back to his seat with difficulty. A nauseous feeling overcame him as everything seemed to spin and sway, but it seemed to eventually settle down.

"We were followed..."

His thick eyelashes fluttered shut as he paused to catch his breath. Alois didn't have to stop to think about who it was that Hannah was referring to – of course Claude had followed them. It would be odd if the demon had neglected to notice them leaving. Alois smirked to himself, though, thinking about what he had planned all along. Regardless of how cunning and clever Claude seemed to regard himself as, Alois had the upper hand this time... Everything was drawing to a conclusion now. It had slowly been building but now the decisive end was drawing near.

"Don't forget my orders, Hannah," he reminded her.

The door to the carriage shut after she responded with a subdued nod. There was a murmur, carried by a brief gust of wind that made it inside, and it belatedly made its way to his ears. "Yes, Master."

Alois smiled to himself as he poked his tongue out, drawing it along the outer rim of his lips. Briefly, a distorted Faustian contract – a teal star coated over the golden one that had been engraved there in the first place – seemed to glow. "This is it."

—

It took all of his strength just to stumble out into the hallway after he dressed himself. His mind was smeared with conflicting thoughts, like mixed paint on a canvas, he could not make out the picture clearly. One thing was perfectly clear: he didn't want to be alone anymore. An idea gradually surfaced amidst the tangle of thoughts in his mind... There was only one way to reach Remy, when she was so far from his grasp.

His blurry gaze wandered down to the wound on his side. It had not yet started to bleed through, but he was sure it was slowly seeping past the layers of bandages. He swallowed the burdensome thought – he had better things to do than focus on the pain.

"Hannah," he muttered her name beneath his breath. Where was she? Now that Remy was dead, she was supposed to be cleaning the house. But he had already checked several rooms and had yet to catch sight of Hannah. Maybe when he did he would punish her for not being easy to find.

Yet when he finally did spot her, working diligently at scrubbing the floors with her mop, he could not bring himself to want to crush her... Not when he thought about Remy, who somehow had to linger somewhere inside of Hannah. He was sure she had to. He stretched his hand out unwittingly toward her, croaking her name.

The silver-haired maid took a slow, creaky turn, as though hesitant to look back at him. "Master?" she spoke questioningly with that eye of hers looking to him for an answer.

His legs kept moving and before he could order them to stop, he crashed right into her. The two toppled over and he felt a jabbing pain in his side that left him gasping for breath. When he finally managed to lift himself up just enough to look at her in the face, the tears were already streaming down his cheeks. "Remy... I want... Remy..." And he sounded like a self-centered child whose favorite toy had been taken away – a comparison that was not entirely untrue.

"M-Master..." She frowned awkwardly, probably ravaging the corners of her mind for some words to say. Would they be comforting? Reassuring?

Nothing that her lips could speak would mean anything to him, though. He wanted to hear Remy's voice, not Hannah's. "Make... a contract with me..." A small smirk crawled up on his lips as the idea solidified itself in his head. Yes – that was it... He could make a contract. Slowly Alois's resolve was building. "Make a contract," he told her again, albeit more forcefully.

Her eyes – eye, rather – seemed to search his for some sign of sincerity. Maybe she doubted his intent. But Hannah was not one to say such a thing; she was always obedient. "What is it you wish for?"

Grinning, he leaned forward as he whispered it into her ear.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, just to note for those who may be confused: Remy is the one who summoned Claude but her father was the one who ultimately contracted him. The contract, which was only to kidnap Trancy's heir, was rendered void when Noah took the opportunity to avenge himself by killing the heir. Therefore Claude killed Remy's father. (I know, dramatic.) I tried to make the explanation fairly straight forward in the story, but just in case I wanted to include this for those who may have gotten confused. And it appears as though the story will be extended one additional chapter. Looking like it will end at about 19 chapters. (Which means probably 20 since I'm terrible at estimating...) I love hearing what you guys think will happen. You know I've been planning all these delightful twists for months! XD

Anyways, Ciel won on the poll but I've posted the first chapter to both a Claude and Ciel story if you guys are interested. I'll be slow to updating them until Masquerade finishes since it has priority but nonetheless!

**burry and bunny - **Just wanted to thank you for the extensive feedback on Masquerade, it really motivated me to finish this chapter! I don't think you were being disrespectful at all, I rather think of it as an accurate critique. Not that all stories need to be thrilling, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, can't-wait-to-turn-the-page stories, but I want to work on that in the future. This story turned out more slow-paced and easy-going for most of the chapters. So hopefully I can improve on that with my other stories. I am glad you have enjoyed it, though! I have tried my best to make it unique with as many twists as possible without crossing the 'Sue' ground. I think flawed characters are beautiful in their own way, so I always try to dole out a fair amount of weaknesses and strengths while maintaining the in character-ness of the canons (if that makes sense). So I'm happy if I've accomplished this!

Now I had better get back to my 10 page paper for school... But I hope you guys enjoyed, I would love to hear what you think!


	17. Caught Up in Fantasy

**Author's Note:** This chapter will mess with your mind - very psychological. Try to think outside of the box to understand, but given how this is kind of intended to screw with you, I will explain things at the bottom. Enjoy. :D

* * *

"Cold!" he gasped out in a shuddering breath as his eyes flew open. His arms were trembling uncontrollably and his clothes were drenched. Water droplets weighed down heavily on his eyelids as he struggled to open them. Then, Alois was forced to squint as the rays of the burning sun glared down at him. He found his mind reeling as he glanced down at his hands, which were cold and clammy.

A familiar face peered into his, appearing suddenly from beside him. "Are you okay, big brother? I thought I had lost you for a moment there. You wouldn't wake up no matter what I did." It was Luka's face – Luka's brown eyes which were filled to the brim with tears as he sniffled. Though there was something strange about his face; it was less boyish than Alois remembered, more defined and developed. He looked older.

"Luka?" Alois rasped in a cracked voice as he reached his hand out toward his brother, caressing Luka's face. As much as Alois was sure this had to be a dream, it felt real. But why did his head hurt so badly? It was a sudden crashing pain that hit him the moment he tried to remember how he had ended up soaked to the bone in the first place – and why his brother looked older than he recalled from his memories. Everything in his mind was like a black void, and nothing around him felt particularly familiar. He couldn't figure out what was going on.

Nonetheless, Luka offered Alois a toothy grin as he wiped away the tears in his eyes. "Sorry, you had me worried. I'm sure even Remy would be mad at me if something happened to you."

That name! Alois's eyes widened. Why did that name sound so familiar? It made his chest ache, and once again his mind was reeling. He grasped the side of his head, unable to withstand the incessant throbbing pain. Trying to remember that name only made it worse. He couldn't think about it, but he had to ask. The curiosity nagged at him. "Remy?" The name rolled off his tongue so easily, as though he had spoken it before. "Who is that?" He felt as though he should know.

"Did you hit your head when you fell in the river?" Concern was written across Luka's face as he reached out his hands and gently felt of all sides of his brother's head. "I don't feel any knots, but you sure are acting strange..."

Fell into the river... Alois didn't remember falling in. "Where am I?" he asked as he peered around. It appeared that the two of them were sitting on a grassy riverbank, and just below them was the gushing and yet somewhat shallow river that Alois had apparently fallen into. In his observations, he also noticed that Luka's pant legs were wet, undoubtedly from pulling Alois out of the river.

"You really don't remember?" Those brown eyes were glistening with tears again.

Not wanting to worry his brother anymore, Alois quickly flashed him a smirk as he stood up. "Of course I do, I was just testing you." He felt a little unsteady on his feet at first and a bit dizzy, but the feeling quickly subsided.

Luka chuckled at Alois as he stood up too. "I should have expected that. We better hurry home, though. I have never seen Remy angry before, but if we are late for dinner then we might actually get to see her mad. I don't think I want to." He made an unpleasant expression as he motioned for his brother to follow him.

The two siblings walked through the tall grass until they made it up to the road. Alois matched his brother's pace, and the two remained side-by-side as they ambled down the dirt beaten path. The blonde-haired boy stole an occasional glance at his brother, whose height seemed to almost match his own. Luka's hair had grown, too. It was long and unruly, sticking out every which and way as though it had never before seen a brush or a comb.

Still there were unanswered questions in Alois's mind, but from the moment he started walking beside his brother, he felt a sense of peace and calm that was almost unrecognizable. It was comfortable and though his chest still ached with a bitter longing that seemed all too familiar, he felt no sense of urgency. Everything was sublime. All thoughts that this was a dream, that he was imagining – even that nagging feeling of wrongness – it had all subsided.

"Oh!" Luka exclaimed abruptly as they stopped in the middle of the road. The brown-eyed boy quickly ran to a spot on the roadside where a few daisies were blooming. He plucked several before pausing to admire and smell them.

"What are you doing?" Alois asked in an almost absurd tone.

Grinning back at his brother, Luka said, "For Remy. Do you think she'll like them?"

"She probably doesn't like flowers," the blonde-haired boy answered without hesitation. It was only after he had spoken that he paused to wonder why he had said such a thing. How would he know if she didn't like flowers or not? Especially when he couldn't even remember her... It was starting to make his head ache again.

"Well, she is a girl," Luka answered thoughtfully, "And girls like things like this."

Suddenly the overwhelming urge to tease his brother hit and Alois couldn't resist. "Oh, I see... You like her." He grinned devilishly even as his brother's cheeks flushed red from the comment. The reaction made Alois's heart throb – a feeling that caught him by surprise and had him grasping at his chest. The fabric crumpled into his fist, water draining between the cracks in his fingers. Alois paused to look down at his clothing – tattered and torn. He felt out of place wearing it.

But before he could begin to question the state of his attire, his brother spoke up in a stuttering voice, "N-No, nothing like that..." The red-haired boy averted his gaze, a loneliness held within those eyes of his that said he was lying, but he soon flashed Alois another toothy grin. Then he hurried back to his brother's side, daisies cradled in his arms. "You should give them to her."

Alois blinked and then furrowed his brows. "Me?" he pointed to himself questioningly. "You want me to give her the flowers that you picked?"

Although Luka nodded slowly, there was a resigned look on his face. "I am sure it would make her happier that way. She would probably rather get them from you." Slowly the boy held out his arms toward his brother, with all the daisies that he had so carefully picked himself.

The elder brother eyed them for a moment but snatched only one single daisy from his brother's arms. "I'll take one," he said, "You give her the rest. Since you picked them, that only makes sense." After Alois finished speaking, he continued to trudge down the road, the soles of his battered sandals slapping noisily against the compacted dirt.

Luka quickly caught up, smiling blithely as he matched Alois's pace. "I can't wait to get home. Remy's cooking is always the best, and I'm so hungry!" He sighed wistfully as he started to speed up, until he was almost jogging.

Not wanting to lose to his brother, Alois began sprinting ahead of Luka. "I'll beat you there!" he called back as he sped forward. Despite the feeling of unfamiliarity to his surroundings that he had felt before, he suddenly felt as though he had spent his entire life like this – like he knew the way as well as he knew the back of his hand. Behind him, he could hear the sound of his brother's clumsy footsteps as he tried to catch up, yelling at Alois for having left him behind in the dust. Alois's own footsteps sounded a bit funny with the water still in his shoes. _Squish, squish._ Even so, he was still the faster of the two of them.

He knew his way to the house, too. Though he was not sure how, he knew exactly where to turn, passing by a large pointed rock, and then down a small serpentine side road – past a small farm where the workers were still actively plowing their fields. The small dilapidated house with peeling paint that sat on an overgrown, grassy hill, lay just beyond his gaze. He paused only momentarily, still unsure if this was truly his destination. Yet his footsteps grew more confident as he trudged up the stone steps to the front door.

Alois barely managed to recognize his own actions or voice as he threw the front door open and exclaimed, "Back in time!"

"Not in time, you are late," a girl's voice corrected. He suddenly found two eyes, colored as the cold snow of winter and furious as waves on the ocean, staring him down. Like Luka, she had red hair, though it was a more brilliant and shining shade; crimson, the color of freshly spilled blood. It was long, too – extending almost down to her waist. And as his eyes wandered downward, he found himself keenly aware of the fact that she was wearing a _dress_.

The breath in his lungs flooded out his mouth, held slightly ajar. There was nothing particularly stunning about her. She had neither captivating beauty nor repulsive ugliness. Nothing at all to stare at, and yet he was ogling. Surely, he convinced himself, it was because there was something about her. This eerie feeling of familiarity that nagged at him, and yet just like before, the moment he started to pry into his memories to recall _why_ he felt that familiarity, his head throbbed.

The girl, on the other hand, was not quite so conflicted. She glared at him with those scrutinizing eyes of hers, examining his clothing from head to toe. "Why are you all wet?" There was no emotion to her voice even as she posed the question. That part of her seemed to elicit a memory jolt that left him reeling.

"He fell into the river," Luka gasped out from behind Alois, completely out of breath as he hunched over, hands on his knees as he tried to recompose himself. Once he had managed to catch his breath again, he stood up and then cheerily handed the flowers over to the girl. "Here, Remy, I stopped and picked these for you."

At first she seemed to look at them with an apathetic gaze that spelled out a lack of interest. Nonetheless, she took them and muttered a faint, "Thank you," that sounded almost foreign as it rolled off her tongue. As she turned to set them down on the table, she spoke in a louder, questioning voice. "So what about falling into the river?"

"It was really weird. He said he saw something in the river, and I guess he lost his balance as he was leaning on the river back. He fell right in. I don't even know what he saw... I didn't see anything. But I did pull him out!" Luka grinned widely at that, as though saving Alois was a great accomplishment that he was proud of.

Remy still had an unpleasant look on her face as she glanced briefly between Luka and Alois. "Anyways, dinner is ready. You two should get changed and eat." her words were brisk and almost cold. She seemed aloof.

The command did manage to jolt Alois out of his daze, though. He remembered then that he still had a daisy in his hand, which he had promised Luka he would give to Remy. Suddenly he was beginning to rethink that idea. Something compelled him, though, and before he knew what he was doing, he had caught her by the shoulder with one hand, holding the flower out toward her with the other. Luka had already left to get changed, glancing back at them momentarily and flashing his brother a big grin.

"For me?" she asked, seemingly dumbfounded at the gesture.

"You sound unappreciative," he told her coyly.

Remy didn't seem to pay his words any mind. She took the daisy and glanced up at his face. Then she shocked him – and _smiled_. There was actually a genuine crease in her lips, a true expression of happiness. "Thank you," she said, her voice sounding completely sincere.

Before Alois was even sure what was going on, he had thrown his arms around her and pulled her close to him. As they embraced, he relished in the heat that emanated from her body, for he was still chilled to the bone in his wet clothes. "I had a really weird dream," he exhaled slowly, "When I passed out and Luka pulled me out of the river."

"A dream?"

He nodded against her shoulder. "You and Luka... You were both in it." Yes, he could remember it, though it was still vague. Like a distant, almost forgotten memory that had been haunting him. For a moment, he almost thought it was real, but there was no way it could have been. It did not feel as real as the Remy he was holding in his arms. It was much different – not warm and comforting like the household he was standing in – instead it was cold, unforgiving, distant...

"What happened?" The girl slipped her thin arms around him, rubbing his back comfortingly with her calloused hands. But beneath the fabric of his vest and undershirt, he could not feel how rough her skin was. He could, however, feel the warmth from her hand, which gave him the chills.

"Luka died," he told Remy as he squeezed her tighter. "I was really... Cold and cruel. I think you hated me. You died, too... Because of me." Just talking about it felt like reliving it. That was the last thing he wanted to do – see that world, which felt so far away from the one he was immersed in now. Still, he was shaken up by it.

Remy seemed to notice this. "It was just a dream," she cooed reassuringly, "Luka and I are both alive, and I don't hate you."

Alois closed his eyes. That is right... All of it had merely been a nightmare that he had suddenly been thrust into without realizing... But he was awake now. The truth was in Remy, whose dainty arms held tightly to him, and in her warmth which seemed to caress and comfort him.

Both he and Luka had muddled through their painful childhood and made a living for themselves despite troubled times. Along the way, they had met Remy who had also lost her family. At first, Alois had been apprehensive about her and her intentions, but the three of them seemed to connect almost instantly. That is what had happened. He remembered now. It all made sense. A demon could never kill Luka. Remy could never have died because of Alois. And Alois would have never-

"Jim?"

His mind jolted. "Jim?" he repeated.

Remy glanced up into his face. "Jim?"

Slowly his eyes widened. Jim. That was his name. The name that he had abandoned. He was not Alois, so why had he been thinking of himself as Alois, the Earl of Trancy? Suddenly his breath was caught up in the back of his throat as his mind went reeling from the rush of realization. He had been so content to will himself into complacency that he had ignored the truth. The reason he was here in this world – he remembered now.

—

_ The carriage was jerking so forcefully as it raced down the road, away from Remy's old home. The sound of clomping horse shoes filled the air. Alois found himself gritting his teeth as he held his hand against the wound on his abdomen, trying to apply as much pressure as possible. His body just had to hold out a little longer, and yet it stubbornly resisted his commands to hold up. He gazed over at Remy as he struggled through the pain, breathing irregularly._

_ Her body had collapsed onto the seat, and it lay awkwardly with her limbs dangling just like those of a doll's. The expression on her face looked peaceful, though. But while that should have given him some comfort, it made him feel even more bitter._

_ "Are you happy right now, Remy?" he asked wryly. "You should be cursing your luck – thinking you could escape from me, and now I'm going to join you soon." And it was for that reason that he kept coaxing his body to hold on._

_ Claude was surely in pursuit. Alois just had to hold on until they made it into the forest again. For Hannah whose combat skills were not quite on par, she had to gain the advantage by maneuvering through territory where she could easily use her weapons while remaining at a distance. The trees could work to impede Claude from reaching her and engaging in close range combat._

_ For their plans, Alois had to admit to having little confidence. In every aspect, he thought of Claude as superior and Hannah as inferior. This plan was about as hollow as his heart. Maybe he would die without being devoured. Maybe Claude would devour him instead of Hannah. Either way, he would see the end._

_ In the time he spent enamored with his own imagination, the carriage had already arrived in the wooded area. At the same time, Alois heard a deafening crack as one of the trees up ahead came crashing down. It was too quick for Hannah to try to maneuver the horses out of the way. The impact of the carriage slamming against the tree set the horses loose and sent the cab itself toppling over. Both Remy and Alois were slung out of their seats._

_ Somehow – and he was sure it was some twisted fate – Alois landed on top of Remy. Her body somehow managed to cushion his fall, although her elbow jabbed right into his side and left him breathless as he struggled to roll off of her._

_ "Protecting me in death?" he rasped in disbelief, chuckling dryly at the irony. His laughter sounded more like heaving gasps for air. Either way, there was a trace of mirth on his face as he crawled toward the crookedly, half-opened carriage door. Since the carriage had turned over completely, he was lucky – he supposed – that the distance to the ground was low enough for him to merely crawl out._

_ Birds had all cleared the area and he could hear the clash of steel. But, wherever it was, he could not see the two demons who were engaged in battle. Obviously, being as perceptive as he surely was, Claude had figured it out already. Seeing Alois at Remy's old house was probably enough to give it away, if the triplets had not alerted Claude themselves... That Alois had betrayed their contract._

_ Regardless, time was not on Alois's side any longer. The stitches, it seemed, had ripped free from his skin. Once again the wound was fully open, and he could feel blood bubbling up his throat. It came out as he choked. A small puddle formed on the ground, diluted red mixed with a sickening shade of yellow bile. Alois barely had enough strength not to collapse there. Stubbornly, he forced himself to crawl around the side of the carriage, twisting his neck around every which and way just to get a glimpse at the fight. He wanted to know – was dying (in more ways than one) to know – who was winning._

_ But his body did not agree with his urgings to comply, and it gave out beneath him. First his legs stopped responding, then his arms, until he couldn't so much as wiggle his way. His face dropped down against the dirt as blood flowed up and he found himself gagging on the coppery taste. Everything was becoming dark, and his body was slowly growing numb. From his fingertips and toes, he started being unable to feel anymore._

_ "Remy," he croaked as tears started welling up in his eyes. His heart felt as though it had been wound up in a knot. It ached and throbbed even while he could not feel the wound on his side, bleeding profusely. Yet, although it was insufferable, he could not mount up enough strength to plunge a dagger through his heart to end it. Alois was relegated to lying there until he bled dry. A humiliating death for someone who had risen through the ranks so he would never be forced into such a humble position again._

_ The irony was not lost on Alois, as he smiled bitterly to himself. His eyelids were beginning to close upon themselves, and try as he might, he could not will them to stop. They shut involuntarily, and while he managed to keep a grip on consciousness, it was beginning to fade – rapidly. Once the feeling was gone, the sight went too. Then the smell – the pine, the dirt, the animals. Then the taste – the blood and the bile – it faded, along with the recognition that he was still gagging on the fluids coming up from his stomach. At last the sound, which was the only indication that he was still alive, flickered out like a light._

_ Until everything was silent._

—

Slowly, his eyes cracked open.

"Are you awake?" a voice whispered quietly through the darkness.

Darkness? Before he would have jolted at the absence of light, but for some reason, Alois did not even flinch at it. Instead, he squinted as he sat up, trying to discern the outline of a person standing just a few feet away. But before he could make out the silhouette, he noticed something had fallen from his forehead and into his lap. As his gaze wandered down, he vaguely noticed that it was a wet cloth. Suddenly he was acutely aware of the fact that his head was _still_ throbbing, and his whole body felt chilled.

A flickering light suddenly appeared and light flooded through the room, just a few feet away from the bed. It illuminated Luka's face, and the boy turned to look at Alois with a smile only dimly recognizable through the shadows. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard. You fainted right on top of Remy, you know. She was really worried about you." Then, he paused briefly, brown eyes glancing down at the hunched over form that was leaning against Alois's bed.

Alois followed his brother's gaze and noticed it was Remy, bottom planted on a seat beside his bed while her torso was halfway on the bed. Her eyes were firmly closed but he could distinctly make out the gradual rise and fall of her chest. She was _breathing_, sleeping peacefully with her arms crossed neatly beneath her head. Despite the peaceful look on her face, Alois felt a twinge of guilt just looking at her.

"She would not even leave your side to eat, you know." The red-haired boy strolled over beside Remy and knelt down against the wooden floorboards, taking a seat there. "Are you feeling better?"

Everything felt so surreal to Alois. Still, the blonde-haired boy managed a resigned nod as he heaved a sigh of frustration. He still could not figure out what was wrong with him, and just thinking about it induced more sharp pain in his forehead. Was it some kind of sign that he was not supposed to think about the truth? Was he supposed to silently accept who he had suddenly become? To acknowledge this new reality that had suddenly been so unwillingly thrust upon him? His face contorted as he gritted his teeth.

From his place beside Remy, Luka seemed to notice that his brother was struggling. "If something is bothering you, you should talk to us about it. Please don't bottle it up inside. Remy and I both really care about you."

Those words were words Alois had always wanted to hear. They were reassuring, and they soothed the painful ache of longing that had plagued his soul for so many years. Nevertheless, the boy sitting in front of him did not sound like Luka. The girl who had willingly returned his embrace and smiled at the gesture of a flower, did not seem at all like Remy. Did that mean they were unreal? Were they just figments of his imagination, dreamed up to sooth his loneliness?

In the first place, he was not sure whether he was dead – sent to hell or heaven, whichever it might be – or if this was some twisted reality in the pit of a demon's stomach. Regardless, he could not bring himself to believe that the world around him was real.

While he was preoccupied with his own concerns, Remy began to stir. "Huh?" she groaned groggily as she sat upright, wiping away the sleep from her eyes – eyes that were both _blue_. Another sign that it could not possibly be the real Remy. But then she smiled at him, with that face that looked just like Remy's, and Alois found himself wanting to believe. "Has your fever gone down?" Then she outstretched her hand, and those warm fingers of hers crawled across the skin of his forehead. The feel of her skin against his was not at all like a dream. She was definitely there – Remy or not.

But the fact that it was not Remy was enough to anger Alois and he slapped her hand away. "Don't touch me," he hissed with a glare.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so to explain in case it was difficult to understand - Alois is obviously in an "alternate reality," so to speak, where he is not quite himself but retains his own consciousness. The underlying question is _where_ is he? Is he dead? Is he alive? Is he in Hannah's stomach, is he in Claude's stomach, is he dreaming? Reversely, the question could be asked, was being the Earl of Trancy the dream? Is this reality? Of course this spreads out into the question of whether or not that is really Luka or Remy, too. It is supposed to be confusing but it is also supposed be thought provoking, to make you think. By the way, because it confused my beta reader and I tried to make it more noticeable, the part where Alois is in the carriage is a flashback. The "dream," or what have you, happens after everything turns black for him. If you want to take a crack at guessing what has really happened, I'd love to hear. Estimates are skewed, but we should have only one chapter to go!


	18. Side By Side

In the early morning, Alois could make out the sound of clamoring footsteps. Then came the smell of breakfast, wriggling its way in through the crack beneath his door and teasing at his nose. It beckoned his hungry belly. And even though he was sure this was nothing more than a dream – an illusion – the burn in his stomach felt real enough. It was growling as loud as he remembered from his childhood. A feeling that he had not experienced since he became Alois Trancy.

Perhaps half compelled by curiosity and half by hunger, he dared to venture out of his bed and into the kitchen, where Luka and Remy seemed to be working together. There were smiles on their faces. And in his mind, Alois lamented on how he had never seen such an expression on the real Remy's face. Further proof that this was all just his own mind tricking him, no matter how real everything felt.

"Morning, Jim," Remy greeted when she spotted him.

He bristled upon hearing her address him by that name. In his own stubborn insistence, Alois corrected her, "That's not my name. Call me Alois."

His strange behavior seemed to baffle her and she turned to Luka with a quirked brow. In return, the red-headed boy merely gave a shrug. Even he did not seem to understand his sibling's odd behavior. "Did he hit his head when he fell in?" she wondered in a whisper that was nevertheless loud enough for Alois to hear.

Ignoring the comment, he took a seat at the table. "What are we eating?" he asked, trying to sound as regal as the nobleman that he no longer was. His attempt was foiled by the noisy growling of his stomach, which sent Remy and Luka into a fit of chuckling laughter. Alois glowered at them for it.

"You sure are acting odd today, Ji... err, Alois." Remy grinned at him as she set out a plate in front of him. On it were two eggs and a single slice of bread. It was honestly a meager looking meal, but his portion seemed to be larger than hers, as he noticed when she sat across from him.

"If you still aren't feeling well, you should stay home today. Remy and I can handle the fieldwork by ourselves." Luka pulled out a chair beside Alois and took his seat. Both he and Remy briefly paused to recite their prayers before eating. Alois huffed at the religious display – he had never believed in a higher being. Either because of his own conceitedness or because he suspected that, if God did exist, then He had forsaken Alois.

It did not take very long for Remy and Luka to clear their plates. Alois was not far behind them in finishing his own, albeit begrudgingly. He felt some measure of contempt toward their way of living, which differed so greatly from what he was used to. It was strange, and he mused at the irony, that he had everything he had ever wanted – both Remy and Luka, and yet his lavish lifestyle was gone. Maybe the reason he was not satisfied was because he was not convinced that he was living in reality.

And in a dream where he had Remy and Luka, who did not act like themselves, he longed to awaken to see their normal faces. Even if it was a Remy who would never smile, it was that person that he had grown attached to.

It occurred to him that in his "reality," however, that both of the people sitting with him had already died and left him alone. The more he thought of that, the more his head ached and the more he couldn't make sense of any of it.

Remy suddenly came up from behind him and reached forward to remove his plate from the table. When he spotted her hand, he unconsciously reached for it. Her skin was warm but her palm was calloused from hard labor. As much as he tried to convince himself that this was really a dream, it felt so unbelievably real. And moreover, he had not been able to wake up from it, no matter how much he willed himself to do so.

"Is something wrong?"

When he realized he was still holding onto her, he quickly released her and then stood from the chair. It bumped Remy in the chest and she stumbled backwards. Alois cast a brief glare at her before traipsing toward the front door.

"Hey, Jim! That was rude, you should apologize to Remy!" Luka called after him.

If he could believe that she was Remy, then Alois might have felt inclined to say how sorry he was – for everything. But he was still convinced that it was all merely a figment of his overactive imagination. Whether he had been consumed by death or otherwise, something was intent on tricking him. He was sure that as soon as he fell for it, he would wind up being betrayed.

Lingering behind in the dilapidated cabin were Remy and Luka, the latter of which had rushed to the former's aid. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"It's okay." Remy smiled at him as she brushed off her tattered dress. But despite the happy expression on her face, there was a far off look in her blue eyes as she gazed after the boy who had suddenly rushed out. "It will just take some time for him to adjust."

"Should I go out after him?"

Slowly, she shook her head. Remy briefly turned her body and set her hands on Luka's shoulders. "I hate to ask, but for today, you can take over the fieldwork, right? I will go after Jim and make sure that he comes back safely."

Just as there had been a momentary glaze over Remy's eyes, so too did that strange unfocused opaque shade color Luka's as he shook her hands off of his shoulders. "You aren't holding a grudge, are you?" His voice was strangely cold.

In the blink of an eye, Remy's hands shot up toward his throat, where she held Luka firmly in place. Her eyes narrowed as she glared up at him, keeping just enough force to temporarily cut off the flow of oxygen from his lungs. "Don't get in my way on this one. You had best stay out of it." When she finally released him, he collapsed onto his knees in sputtering gasps. "Well, I'm counting on you, Luka. Take care not to overwork yourself."

With the swish of her long skirt, Remy headed out the door, careful to close it on her way out. Then she sauntered down the path leading out to the main road, calling out, "Jim! Jim, where'd you go?!" along the way.

It took some time to catch up with him. He was plodding along aimlessly down the road that led toward the town, apparently headed back to the river from whence he had originally came. Remy matched his pace, although much to Alois's chagrin; he did not try to shake her off by running away. But he did ignore her presence.

"Luka is really worried about you. Where are going? Back to town? What for?"

Her incessant questions only annoyed him, but Alois knew full well that it would be impossible to shake her off. It was difficult for him to believe that this was Remy when she seemed to speak without any reservations, completely different from how he remembered her. And when he regarded her, it was with a condescending gaze. "Go back home." It was supposed to be a command, which he waited with anticipation to see her obey.

But Remy just studied his face for a moment before responding. "Is something the matter? You are being unusually distant since yesterday. Don't tell me that you had a fight with Luka again." She sighed, as though exasperated by his antics.

"Again?" he echoed.

She seemed surprised by his curiosity. "Yeah, it was just a few nights ago. Before you went to town yesterday. Remember, the two of you were arguing about whose turn it was to go. It was supposed to be Luka's turn, but you said there was something you just had to pick up. That's why you both ended up going, leaving me behind by myself."

Suddenly Remy seemed to be pouting, her bottom lip protruding slightly. It repulsed Alois, who promptly put some distance between them. After all, he still did not perceive her as anything short of some annoying girl completely unassociated with Remy, regardless of the resemblance. "I don't remember," he snapped back at her. "So disgusting..."

Remy frowned this time. "What is it that's disgusting? You're acting really weird, Jim." Suddenly she stopped in the middle of the road and reached over to grab him by the crook of the elbow, but Alois shook free of her grasp.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed at her.

"Why?" she asked desperately with sadness in her eyes. "Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

Since she was asking, he finally told her. "You're not Remy. You're an imposter! Just stay away from me, you're disgusting!"

Her eyelids seemed to lower a fraction as all traces of emotion drained from her face. "Is that so?" she sounded – looked more like the Remy that he remembered, although it was a sudden transformation that left Alois reeling to reconsider his words.

Nonetheless, he managed to hold his ground, stopping in place long enough to stare her down. "Yes," the blonde exclaimed back at her in a hateful hiss, "You are nothing more than a dream! A figment of my imagination! I just want to wake up and forget all of this!"

"Really?" she challenged back, "Do you really want to wake up?"

The way she asked gave Alois momentary pause. He gulped just thinking about it. His hesitation was a clear display of how unsure he was about his own feelings. But his pride got the better of judgment and he quickly recovered with an ever-resounding, "Of course I do. I said I did, didn't I?" Haughtily, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

"You can't go back." It was strange how she led him into the question only to disappoint him in the end. Yet Remy did not stop there. "But if you aren't satisfied, you can go somewhere more like reality. You don't like a friendly, happy Remy and Luka? Then you can go back. Back to how things used to be. Back to how things really were."

"That makes no sense," he complained back at her with some measure of suspicion. "If it's not reality, how can it be _like_ reality?"

"If you want the Luka who idolized his brother and the Remy that never smiled, I can give you that."

The way she phrased it made him lose a little of his resolve. What did Alois want? Even he was not entirely sure. All he remembered, all he had ever experienced was a reality where Remy was unresponsive, where Luka had died when they were children, and where Alois's only goal in life was to avenge that which he had lost – that which was most precious.

So what did he want?

"I can have... anything I want?" he tested.

The opaque-eyed girl who so resembled Remy gave him a slow nod.

Suddenly his pride swelled and that cocky grin that had always resided on his face suddenly resurfaced. "Then I want reality, I want to be Alois Trancy – with both Luka and Remy at my side." He said it with such pride and fervor, as though he honestly believed that would make him happy.

However, this Remy appeared dismayed at his request. "You torment yourself," the girl told him with half-lidded eyes. She nonetheless leaned forward while he contemplated her words. In that moment he could not move and their lips collided, for a mere second. And it elicited a strange feeling from within, a burning sensation that suddenly overwhelmed him as everything turned a murky shade before going completely black.

—

The feel of motion beneath him and the sound of neighing horses roused him. Alois blinked the sleep away and jolted upright. He was still a bit sluggish, eyes half-lidded as he tiredly gazed around. There was a stench emanating from all sides. As he peered about, he realized with horror that he recognized the young boys seated around him.

His stomach lurched, too, as he recognized the gates that they briefly stopped in front of. The Trancy mansion and the horrors he remembered. It made his entire body tremble as he shakily took another sweeping glance at those around him. Among them, although he had missed her the first time, was Remy. Her clothing just as tattered, patched, and dirt-covered as his own. She regarded him blearily with little more than a frown.

Alois swallowed the lump forming in the back of his throat as he came to a realization as to just what it was that he had wished for. Somehow, it was as though there was a loophole in the midst of what he had said. This was not his intention. He wanted the riches that came with the Trancy name – he wanted to share it with Luka and Remy, both of whom he had lost prematurely.

So why was this his new reality?

In the background he heard some townspeople murmuring beneath their breath. They knew what was about to happen – knew why the children had been brought to the Trancy mansion. Alois also knew – too well, in fact. He had lived through it once.

As much as he willed his legs to move or his lips to part, they would not. His was frozen in place like a zombie. It was as though the past was replaying in his eyes and he had no will power with which to counter against it. But his mind screamed, _"This is not what I wanted!"_ Still, no one – nothing – could hear him.

And when the wagon eventually rolled to a stop, the two groups were gradually escorted inside. Through the halls they were guided into a sort of shower cell, where they were instructed to remove their clothing. For a brief moment, Alois's eyes lingered on Remy and his gut wrenched at the mere thought that she would have to bare herself in front of so many. Yet she seemed to have no hesitation in carrying out the order as instructed.

His gaze swiveled to Luka who displayed similar obedience. And Alois, too, could feel himself slowly peeling away the mud-caked clothing until he was naked, his skin set alight in goosebumps. Despite his shivering, he did nothing to try to hide his humiliation and embarrassment from everyone else.

He was numb, unfeeling.

Their clothing was retrieved and removed by some of the maids. The other maids started taking the boys – and Remy – in groups to the middle of the room, where they – the solemn-faced maids – promptly dumped ice-cold water over the heads of the numb children. And then with brooms, bristles as rough as needles, the maids started scrubbing at their already aching bodies.

A few of them cried. Both Remy and Luka were also taken with that group, while Alois lingered behind in the other group, just awaiting his turn. The red-haired girl hunched over, squinting from the pain. Yet her lips did not break open to belie her expression which only conveyed some manner of annoyance. On the other hand, Alois's sibling seemed to be dealing with it in similar way. Luka only grimaced every time they stroked his back with the splintered bristles.

When that group was finished, they were given what was little more than a meager sheet of fabric – like a towel – to cover themselves with. It looked rather awkward on Remy and not much better on Luka. But when they were finished "dressing," if it could be called that, they were escorted out of the room.

As soon as they disappeared out of his eyesight, Alois felt his pulse quicken. He was panicking – not knowing where they were being taken or why. This, too, was supposed to be a mere figment of his imagination. Yet, if that was really so, then why could he not control it? He wanted it to end. Rather than this, he wanted to be back on that farm with the smiling, giddy Remy and the friendly, playful Luka.

Against his will, Alois endured his own "cleaning" before rejoining the rest of the group. They followed each other, single file, down a hallway until they reached a large room. Inside, he finally got a glimpse of that wrinkly old wretch that had so many times in the past defiled his body. The mere image made Alois nauseous and while he wanted to double over and spill out the contents of his stomach, his legs worked robotically to move him forward.

Both Remy and Luka stood an adequate distance ahead of him, farther in line than he was. Alois was desperate to reach them. Despite his fear and cowardice, he could not stand to see them marched around in front of the perverse eyes of that old lecher. Alois was willing to kill the old earl all over again if he had to – with his bare hands. Anything to keep his hands off of Luka and Remy. Yet all Alois could do was stand there and watch while his body refused to listen to any of his commands.

Gradually the line moved forward until Remy was shoved forward in front of the earl. She stumbled from the force, little more than skin and bones, eventually collapsing onto the floor just a few feet in front of the couch where the elderly Trancy was sprawled out. His beady eyes gave her a once over and he frowned, tapping his cane against the floor.

"Why is there a _girl _here?" he asked, as though disgusted at her mere presence.

"W-well, sir," one of the servants started to answer with a shaky voice.

He did not bother to listen. Casually, he lifted himself off of the couch, strolling forward and kneeling down to inspect Remy. But, just as predicted, the moment she lifted her head and those fiery-red bangs fell away from her eyes, Trancy was disgusted. One blue and one brown – he immediately reeled back and started cursing at her, slamming his cane against her head and back, beating her mercilessly.

Alois's hands twitched at his side and yet he made no move to go to her rescue. He told himself that he needed to, but there was fear coursing through his body that kept him frozen. With half-lidded eyes, he watched until Trancy had had his fill and finally returned to his couch, leaving behind a bloody body that the maids hurried to collect.

And as they dragged Remy out, Alois managed a brief glimpse at her from the corner of his eye. She was still conscious, a stream of crimson running down the length of her forehead as she struggled to keep her eyes open, looking almost completely lethargic.

Luka's turn followed shortly thereafter. Alois found himself wishing that his younger sibling would have received treatment similar to Remy's, but on the contrary, the elderly Trancy seemed to favor the red-haired boy. It made Alois's skin crawl. He wanted to vomit – he wanted to run away. Especially because his turn followed shortly afterward.

It was a replay of the past. The earl did not like Alois's eyes and that was made clear after a thorough beating, though not nearly as bad as the one that Remy had received. And after that was finished, they were escorted out of the room again. One of the boys was unlucky enough to earn the earl's favor and was promptly whisked off. Alois was only grateful that it was neither himself nor his brother. However, Remy was nowhere to be seen and while he was concerned enough about her to want to break away from the line of other boys, his body was unresponsive to any of his attempts to extract himself from the crowd.

In lieu of "pleasing" the earl, the boys were split up and sent off on various back-breaking, laborious tasks. By the time they were finished, their bodies were bruised, battered, bloody, and slick with sweat. Again they were gathered into the washroom, the floor and walls comprised of the same cobblestone. It was dreary, like a dungeon.

This time Alois had enough wherewith to peer around and try to find Remy. He located her after some effort, hunched over and shivering. The beating earlier had left her with a busted lip and an eyelid that was swollen half-shut.

"Remy," he rasped in a hoarse voice as he squatted down beside her.

That blue eye of hers swiveled in his direction as she looked up, her other eye hidden from view by the puffy skin that had swollen up around it. Her lips twitched as though she wanted to speak but no sound came out when she opened them.

His trembling hands outstretched toward her and gently he caressed her face. "Reality," he whispered to her in a tone tinged with desperation. "Give me back my reality. You're not my Remy, either." Thrusting her weak body away from himself, the blonde-haired boy suddenly stood with renewed resolve. "I want to wake up! If these dreams are the only way I can have Luka and Remy, I'd rather wake up!"

A sudden splash of color blinded his vision and he almost felt as though he were floating. As though suspended in space and time he experienced a sensation akin to falling. Deeper and deeper until darkness enveloped him. The swirl of red, purple, green and blue that had been to bright it was almost neon seemed to evaporate in an instant.

Was this reality? Was this a nightmare?

All he wanted was the Remy he had always known and the Luka he had always loved. Was it too much to ask for? Was his personality too warped for him to be satisfied by the dream he had initially found himself consumed in? Impoverished or living in lavish luxury, what did it matter if it meant being beside the only two people he had ever truly cared about? The only two people that had ever reciprocated and tolerated his existence?

Suddenly his eyes opened as he took a gasping breath of air as though he had been submerged in water and had just managed to pull himself out. But while it was true, he discovered, that he was soaked to the bone, it was the hands of another that had brought him – flailing limbs at all – out of the abyss.

"Are you alright?" a concerned voice prompted.

Big, round eyes stared down at him – dark brown and rich as chocolate. Framed by red hair. Alois's breath caught in the back of his throat. The initial surprise had him stammering to call the boy by his name. "L... Luka?"

He appeared to be a young teenage boy but the countenance had an undeniable resemblance to Luka. "Yeah, that's my name," he responded with a supplementary grin.

In the few moments he had to recover, he scarcely noticed another silhouette lingering just behind Luka but his eyes soon caught sight of those unruly red locks. His heart almost seized as he recognized Remy. Not the one he had seen in his first dream but the very one he remembered – with one blue eye and one brown.

Before his mind could even register it, his legs had risen and carried him to her. Those two arms of his were thrown around her, clinging for dear life. And as was typical of the Remy he knew, the show of affection was not returned. It did not matter – she was Remy, she was alive, and she was with him. Pressing his head against her bosom, he could hear it. The faint murmur of her heart. His chest flooded with relief, particularly when he felt her settle a hand on top of his head, hair still dripping wet.

"Master Alois," her soft voice called, with the noticeable hint of weariness it had always carried.

Feeling at ease, he closed his eyes and drank in the sensation. Her warmth that seemed to wash over him, the steady beating of her heart and the erratic rhythm of his own. This was what he wanted. This was what he had always wanted. Just Remy and Luka – nothing else mattered.

And as if to reassure him, Luka clapped a hand down on his shoulder. "You'll get Remy all wet like that. Let's head in and get you dried off."

Reluctantly he consented, yet as the three of them headed for the large manor in the distance, Alois had his fingers firmly entangled with both Remy's and Luka's. Side-by-side, the three of them walked together – linked by Alois in the middle – who, for the first time, had a sincere, blithe smile on his face.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I can only imagine how long you guys have been waiting for this. I was hit with a horrible writer's block and by the time I came back to write this chapter, I had a difficult time picking up from 17. Hopefully, even though it is a year and a half later, it gives some closure to the last chapter. **This is not the end of Masquerade.** I will be writing up and posting an Epilogue this month to finish explaining the end and tying loose ends.

Hopefully this isn't too confusing; I'll try to explain in case it is. Obviously Alois is not "dreaming," per se. His soul has been consumed by a demon (as hinted by the last chapter, it is still 'up in the air' which demon he is in, which will be revealed in the epilogue if it isn't already obvious enough). As a result, "reality" is not something stable and his wishes play some part in what he experiences. The initial one is what I picture Alois's ideal to be - a happy Remy, a happy Luka, and the three of them living together. But ultimately this is too "perfect" and it does not satisfy him. The second is his fear, the worst case scenario of what could happen. And ultimately at the end he has the Luka that he originally lost and the "real" Remy. It is not "perfect," obviously, but it feels real enough that he can be genuinely happy.

I'll try to wrap up this overly long note by saying THANK YOU to everyone who stuck with this story, read it, and waited patiently (some impatiently, but I don't blame them) for me to finish this. Hopefully you enjoy it 'til the very end. I certainly have grown from this experience and have been supported by all of your kind words. Again, thank you.

**Epilogue to follow shortly!**


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Open_ read the neon sign sitting in the windowsill of a storefront in London. Nestled between two shops that were already abandoned, it was tucked into a rather ill-traversed part of the town. People wandered by in twos or threes but rarely a gaze ventured to consider the oblique stares of the dolls within. Creepy, some might have called it. Others may have considered that it had some charm. But the bell to signify new visitors rarely rang.

The shopkeeper was a rather extraordinary individual – not what one would have expected. A young woman with dark skin and hair a silvery white. Half of her face remained bandaged while the other half was visible. She worked alone, apparently the creator of the dolls as well as the one that maintained them.

However, on a day where the London skies were smeared gray and rain was rapidly falling, the light in the store had turned dim. The counter was left unattended as she ventured to the back of the building, the click of her heels the only sound that echoed in the silence. Although even that was soon accompanied by the clap of thunder.

It was on a day that was not entirely unlike this one that those two had met. Hannah recalled it not from her own memories but ones that she had absorbed.

The door creaked as she opened it and stepped into the backroom. It had grown dark and the air was rather stale. For a demon this did not even elicit a pause of consideration. She pressed on, passing opened and unopened boxes alike until she arrived at the rear wall.

Resting on the floor, side-by-side, were two life-sized dolls. They almost gave the appearance of being alive themselves. Both had glassy eyes that stared emptily out at the world. A boy and a girl with hands that were interlinked, their fingers woven together in a tight grasp.

"Master," the young woman whispered through the darkness as she knelt down and caressed the face of the blonde-haired doll. It, of course, was unresponsive to sound of her voice even as she called out to it. Again and again she stroked his cheek before looking over at the other doll – the female. Hannah reached out with her other hand to gently cup the cheek of the girl. "Are you both happy now?" she asked quietly.

The two dolls, both of whom had porcelain lips set in a tight frown, gave no response. They only stared blankly back at their creator.

"Now the two of you are finally together." Dropping her hand away from the male doll, she brought it to rest against her chest. Gazing down, she smiled to herself. "I can feel it. You are at peace now, aren't you?"

The moment ended abruptly as the stagnant air brought the chime of the bell. A rare occurence even on a day when the sun glared down on the streets. Hannah quickly took to her feet with no time to linger and headed for the front of the store, giving one last, wistful look back at the two dolls that were leaning against each other.

"Together forever," she whispered before closing the door behind her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Short and sweet, I hope. It really just confirms that both Alois and Remy are together inside of Hannah. I know this may leave some other questions unanswered but hopefully it ties most of the story together.

Thank you all so much for sticking with it, for all the amazing reviews and all the support I received. :)


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